THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 


HENRY   PETER    SCHOLTE 


aTJ0H08    fl?lTfl'c1    YHZHH 


HKXRY    PETER    fcfTTOLTE 


THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 


BY 
Jacob  Van  der  Zee 


PUBLISHED  AT  IOWA  CITY  IOWA  IN  1912  BY 
THE  STATE  HISTORICAL  SOCIETY  OF  IOWA 


IQ9 

EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

The  author  of  this  volume  on  The  Hollanders 
of  Iowa  was  admirably  fitted  for  the  task.  Born 
of  Dutch  parents  in  The  Netherlands  and  reared 
among  kinsfolk  in  Iowa,  he  has  been  a  part  of  the 
life  which  is  portrayed  in  these  pages.  At  the 
same  time  Mr.  Van  der  Zee's  education  at  The 
State  University  of  Iowa,  his  three  years'  resi- 
dence at  Oxford  as  a  Rhodes  Scholar,  and  his 
research  work  in  The  State  Historical  Society 
of  Iowa  have  made  it  possible  for  him  to  study 
the  Hollanders  objectively  as  well  as  subjectively. 
Accordingly,  his  book  is  in  no  respect  an  over- 

g   drawn,  eulogistic  account  of  the  Dutch  people. 
The  history  of  the  Hollanders  of  Iowa  is  not 

S  wholly  provincial :  it  suggests  much  that  is  typi- 
cal in  the  development  of  Iowa  and  in  the  larger 
history  of  the  West :  it  is  "a  story  of  the  stubborn 
and  unyielding  fight  of  men  and  women  who  over- 

V  came  the  obstacles  of  a  new  country  and  handed 

J»  down  to  their  descendants  thriving  farms  and 

^  homes  of  peace  and  plenty." 

Benj.  F.  Shambaugh 

Office  of  the  Superintendent  and  Editor 
The  State  Historical  Society  of  Iowa 
Iowa  City  Iowa 


32.1 1.120 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 

This  monograph  purports  to  be  a  history  of  ori- 
gins and  a  sketch  of  present-day  conditions  in  the 
principal  Dutch  settlements  of  Iowa.  It  is  a  study 
of  immigration  and  colonization  rather  than  a  de- 
tailed account,  year  by  year,  of  what  has  been  in  most 
respects  a  community  life  of  commonplace  respecta- 
bility so  characteristic  of  all  large  bodies  of  for- 
eigners in  America.  In  other  words  it  is  a  series  of 
chapters  in  the  history  of  the  Hollanders  of  Iowa. 
The  story  of  the  first  years  of  the  Dutch  settlements 
in  Marion  and  Sioux  counties  is  one  of  suffering 
willingly  borne:  it  is  a  story  of  the  stubborn  and 
unyielding  fight  of  men  and  women  who  overcame  the 
obstacles  of  a  new  country  and  handed  down  to  their 
descendants  thriving  farms  and  homes  of  peace  and 
plenty. 

The  history  of  the  Hollanders  of  Iowa  typifies  the 
development  of  the  American  West  and  the  spread 
of  the  American  nation :  it  is  full  of  details  character- 
istic of  the  large  rural  settlements  of  European  im- 
migrants in  America.    It  is  a  pleasure  to  trace  the 

7 


8  AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 

streams  of  immigration  which  have  contributed  to 
produce  the  American  commonwealth.  The  Hol- 
landers have  shown  a  permanent  interest  in  Ameri- 
can affairs  and  institutions;  they  are  now  closely 
identified  with  the  best  interests  of  democratic  gov- 
ernment ;  and  with  respect  to  the  qualities  requisite 
to  success  in  agriculture  they  are  surpassed  by  no 
other  class  of  immigrants  from  Europe. 

Of  the  movement  of  Dutch  immigrants  into  the 
State  of  Iowa,  with  a  statement  of  causes  and  of  the 
singular  experiences  which  the  Dutch  pioneers  under- 
went, no  full  or  connected  account  has  hitherto  ap- 
peared in  the  English  language.  Concerning  the 
Dutch  settlements  of  Iowa  the  writer  found  much 
widely  scattered  material.  From  time  to  time  frag- 
mentary sketches  written  in  attractive  style  have  ap- 
peared in  English  newspapers,  magazines,  and 
county  histories ;  but  the  most  valuable  and  authori- 
tative information  is  to  be  obtained  from  news- 
papers, pamphlets,  and  books  in  the  Dutch  language. 
To  all  these  sources  the  writer  has  very  largely  re- 
sorted and  to  them  he  is  greatly  indebted,  as  nu- 
merous notes  and  references  will  show. 

Desirable  biographical  data  relative  to  Dutch 
pioneers  have  been  almost  entirely  relegated  to  the 
notes  and  references  for  the  fairly  obvious  reason 
that  if  the  writer  had  undertaken  to  insert  such 


AUTHOR'S  PREFACE 


material  in  the  text,  he  would  have  found  himself 
engaged  upon  an  endless  and  ungratifying  task. 

The  writer  wishes  to  acknowledge  the  assistance 
which  he  received  from  many  gentlemen  (especially 
Mr.  H.  P.  Scholte  and  Mr.  A.  J.  Betten)  now  living 
among  the  Hollanders  at  Pell  a  and  in  Sioux  County: 
they  very  generously  gave  him  access  to  newspaper 
files  and  rare  Dutch  books,  copies  of  which  The  State 
Historical  Society  of  Iowa  has  not  been  able  to  add 
to  its  valuable  collection  of  materials  in  the  Dutch 
language.  Thanks  are  due  also  to  the  editors  of 
newspapers  (mentioned  in  a  separate  chapter)  for 
their  willing  submission  to  inconvenience  while  the 
writer  was  engaged  in  his  researches:  to  all  these 
and  to  other  persons  the  writer  is  grateful  for  many 
courtesies.  Especial  thanks  are  due  to  Dr.  Dan  E. 
Clark,  Assistant  Editor  of  The  State  Historical  So- 
ciety, for  numerous  suggestions,  for  corrections  in 
the  manuscript,  and  for  the  index.  Finally,  this  vol- 
ume would  not  have  appeared  if  the  writer  had  not 
been  a  Research  Associate  in  The  State  Historical 
Society  working  under  the  direct  encouragement  of 
its  Superintendent,  Professor  Benj.  F.  Shambaugh. 

Jacob  Van  der  Zee 

The  State  Historical  Society  of  Iowa 
Iowa  City 


CONTENTS 

I.     Early    Dutch    Settlements    in    the 

United  States 15 

II.     Dutch  Immigration  after  1664  .         .         25 

III.  Holland  in  the  Nineteenth  Century         30 

IV.  Why   Dutch   Emigrants   Turned   to 

America      ......  37 

V.     The  Journey  to  America    ...  42 

VI.     From  Baltimore  to  St.  Louis  in  1847  48 
VII.     The  Reception  of  Scholte  and  the 

Dutch  in  America    ....  54 

VIII.     The  Choice  of  a  Home  in  Iowa  .         .  57 
IX.     The  Arrival  of  the  Hollanders  in 

Iowa   .......  65 

X.     Marion  County  and  its  Farms  in  1847         70 
XI.     The   Establishment   of   the    Dutch 

Community         .....         73 
XII.     Years  of  Privation  and  Subsequent 

Relief         ......         82 

XIII.  Hopes  and  Disappointments        .         .         86 

XIV.  Early  Promotion  of  Immigration  to 

Pella 94 

XV.     Twenty-five  Years  of  Dutch  Immi- 
gration to  Iowa        ....       101 

li 


12 


CONTENTS 


XVI.     Pkosperity  at  Pella      .         .         .  106 
XVII.     Encouragement  of  Dutch  Immi- 
gration by  the  State  .         .         .  115 
XVIII.     A  Bee-hive  Ready  for  Swarming  .  122 
XIX.     The  Investigation  of  Northwest- 
ern Iowa  in  1869         .         .         .  127 
XX.     The  Choice  of  Sioux  County        .  132 
XXI.     A  Glimpse  of  Sioux  County  in  1869  136 
XXII.     The  Platting  of  Orange  City        .  140 

XXIII.  Henry  Hospers  and  Immigration 

to  Sioux  County        .         .         .  150 

XXIV.  Locust    Eavages    and    Years    of 

Hardship 160 

XXV.     Twenty-five  Years  of  Growth  in 

the  Orange  City  Colony    .         .  179 
XXVI.     The  Expansion  of  the  Dutch  Ele- 
ment in  Iowa      ....  192 
XXVII.     Political  Beginnings  Among  the 

Hollanders  in  Marion  County  .  208 
XXVIII.     Participation  by  the  Hollanders 

in  Elections        .         .         .         .219 
XXIX.     Politics  in  Sioux  County      .         .  235 
XXX.     The  Dutch  Press  in  Iowa      .         .  245 
XXXI.     Pioneer  Schools  Among  the  Hol- 
landers           256 

XXXII.     Christian  Schools         ...  266 

XXXIII.  Public  and  High  Schools     .         .  271 

XXXIV.  Central  University  of  Iowa  .         .  276 


CONTENTS 


13 


XXXV.     Northwestern   Classical  Acad- 
emy  ...... 

XXXVI.     Early  Religious  Life  Among  the 

Hollanders  in  Iowa 
XXXVII.     The  Dutch  Reformed   Church 
in  Iowa     ..... 

XXXVIII.     The    Christian    Reformed 
Church  in  Iowa 
XXXIX.     Religious  Life  of  the  Holland- 
ers in  1910        .... 

XL.     Community     Life    Among     the 
Hollanders  in  Iowa 
Appendix  A. — Letter  from  Hen- 
drik    barendregt    to    h.     p. 

Scholte 

Appendix  B. — The  Attitude  of 
the  Hollanders  of  Iowa  Dur- 
ing the  Boer  War  . 
Appendix  C. — The  Dutch  Lan- 
guage        ..... 
Notes  and  References 
Index     


280 
287 
294 
305 
310 
317 

339 

349 

363 
369 
429 


PLATES 

Portrait  of  Henry  Peter  Scholte        frontispiece 
Portrait  of  Henry  Hospers      .       opposite  page  150 


EARLY  DUTCH  SETTLEMENTS  IN  THE 
UNITED  STATES 

Towards  the  close  of  the  sixteenth  century  began 
the  protracted  struggle  of  a  handful  of  brave  people 
against  the  seemingly  invincible  power  of  the  wealth- 
iest nation  in  the  world.  How  the  descendants  of 
the  liberty-loving  Batavi  of  Roman  times,  dwelling 
like  their  forebears  in  the  same  lowlands  of  the 
Rhine  delta,  defied  and  humbled  the  armies  and 
navies  of  Spain;  how  these  hardy  Hollanders  pros- 
pered in  the  midst  of  war  and  finally  won  national 
independence  and  high  position  in  the  world  —  these 
are  the  noteworthy  facts  which  make  the  story  of  the 
Golden  Age  of  Holland  a  classic  in  historical  litera- 
ture and  a  cause  of  pardonable  pride  to  every  man 
with  Dutch  blood  in  his  veins.1 

Contemporary  with  the  period  of  the  highest  glory 
of  the  Dutch  Republic,  when  art,  learning,  industry, 
commerce,  religious  toleration,  and  democracy  flour- 
ished side  by  side  as  nowhere  else  in  Europe,  when 
little  Holland's  name  was  heard  in  every  quarter  of 
the  globe,  New  Netherland  came  into  being  in  the 
Western  Hemisphere.  Dutch  merchants,  moved  by 
visions  of  commercial  gain,  fitted  out  a  little  ship  in 
charge  of  Hendrik  Hudson  to  search  for  that  un- 

15 


16  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

known  but  alluring  northwest  sea-passage  to  China 
and  India,  the  discovery  of  which  had  defied  and 
baffled  the  most  daring  navigators  of  the  age.  Thus 
Hudson  steered  the  Half  Moon  westward,  not  to 
Cathay,  but  into  the  river  which  later  received  his 
name.  This  incident  proved  to  be  the  real  beginning 
of  Dutch  interest  in  the  American  continent;  and 
thereafter  merchants  began  to  ply  between  the  In- 
dians of  America  and  the  markets  of  Europe,  for  the 
trade  in  furs  and  peltries  gave  promise  of  much 
profit. 

Approximately  all  the  region  which  lies  between 
the  Connecticut  and  the  Susquehanna  rivers  was 
claimed  by  the  Dutch  as  their  exclusive  preserve  for 
purposes  of  trade ;  but  nothing  was  done  to  validate 
this  claim  until  1624,  when  the  first  band  of  some 
thirty  families  emigrated  from  Leyden  and  made 
settlements  on  Manhattan  and  Staten  islands  and  at 
Fort  Orange  (now  Albany).2  These  Walloons,  who 
had  formerly  fled  from  religious  persecution  in  the 
Belgic  Netherlands  and  were  not  thoroughly  Dutch 
except  in  religious  belief  and  loyalty  to  the  Republic 
and  who  now  forsook  the  city  of  their  adoption  to  try 
their  fortunes  in  the  wilderness  of  a  New  World, 
came  as  the  special  charges  of  the  West  India  Com- 
pany, to  the  decrees  of  which  they  were  subject  in 
all  commercial  and  political  affairs. 

Although  the  Company's  charter  contained  a  pro- 
vision relative  to  "the  peopling  of  the  fruitful  and 
unsettled  parts"  of  New  Netherland,  there  appears 
to  be  little  evidence  that  the   Company  was   ever 


EARLY  DUTCH  SETTLEMENTS  17 

really  sincere  in  promoting  emigration  from  Hol- 
land except  as  a  means  to  its  chief  end  —  the  mo- 
nopoly of  trading  rights.  During  the  early  decades 
of  the  seventeenth  century  Dutch  ships  scoured  the 
high  seas  in  search  of  Spanish  ships,  for  the  spoils 
of  war  were  preferred  to  the  less  remunerative  and 
nobler  work  of  planting  a  colony  in  the  wilderness.3 
Whenever  it  was  rumored  that  a  truce  was  about  to 
be  declared,  the  directors  of  the  Company  petitioned 
the  States-General  of  Holland  to  desist  on  the  ground 
of  the  damage  which  they  had  done  to  the  enemies  of 
the  republic ;  and  when  peace  was  at  length  conclud- 
ed with  Spain  in  1648  the  Company  became  perma- 
nently crippled. 

During  the  early  history  of  New  Netherland  the 
growth  of  the  Dutch  population  even  for  purposes  of 
trade  was  insignificant.  As  a  matter  of  fact  condi- 
tions in  Holland  were  quite  unfavorable  to  the  pro- 
motion of  colonization.  While  economic  and  re- 
ligious causes  brought  thousands  of  English  to  a  new 
England,  labor  was  well  rewarded  in  Holland  and 
religious  toleration  prevailed  in  the  Dutch  provinces. 
Conditions  such  as  these  did  not  induce  emigration 
to  a  strange  land  where  the  outlook  was  so  uncertain. 
Furthermore,  the  Dutch  inhabitants  in  the  Hudson 
River  region  had  not  only  found  very  scant  means  of 
livelihood,  but  they  also  worried  much  about  the 
dangers  from  Indians  and  foreign  enemies.  The 
Company,  moreover,  declared  that  protection  was 
possible  "at  a  greater  expense  than  the  apparent 
gains  to  be  derived  therefrom  seem  to  justify. ' ' 4 


18  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

To  direct  Dutch  settlers  to  New  Netherland  the 
States-General,  urged  by  the  West  India  Company, 
adopted  a  novel  measure.  By  a  charter  of  freedoms 
and  exemptions  large  tracts  along  the  Hudson  River 
were  granted  to  Dutch  burghers  who  offered  to  pro- 
cure a  certain  number  of  persons  to  cultivate  the 
land.  This  revival  of  the  feudal  system  of  land- 
holding  by  patroons  proved  to  be  a  worthless  expe- 
dient: Dutch  inhabitants  of  America  continued  to 
look  to  the  fur-trade  as  their  main  source  of  wealth  ; 
and  the  patroons,  instead  of  concerning  themselves 
with  agriculture,  "diverted  their  energies  and  means 
in  competing  with  the  company  for  a  share  of  the 
Indian  trade."5  This  colonization  policy  tended  to 
retard  the  settlement  and  prosperity  of  New  Nether- 
land, so  that  down  to  the  year  1634  a  few  forts  were 
the  chief  centers  of  life  —  Fort  Orange  and  Fort 
Amsterdam  on  the  Hudson,  Fort  Good  Hope  on  the 
Connecticut,  and  Fort  Nassau  on  the  Delaware. 

In  1638  the  States-General  of  the  Dutch  Republic 
complained  that  the  population  of  New  Netherland 
was  not  increasing  as  it  should ;  that,  indeed,  the  colo- 
nists appeared  to  be  decreasing  in  numbers  and  to  be 
so  neglected  by  the  West  India  Company  that  if  the 
matter  were  not  at  once  attended  to  foreign  princes 
and  potentates  would  entirely  overrun  the  colony. 
This  was  a  serious  complaint,  but  it  brought  no  tan- 
gible results  aside  from  a  resolution  to  "assist  in 
making  and  enacting  such  effectual  order  regarding 
the  population  of  New  Netherland,  and  thereunto 
invite  all  good  inhabitants  of  these  Netherlands  by 


EARLY  DUTCH  SETTLEMENTS  19 


such  inducements  and  pre-eminences  as  ...  . 
they  shall  resolve  to  offer  to  all  colonists"  who 
wished  to  emigrate  to  a  land  where  they  might  ex- 
pect great  profits  from  farming.6 

Under  Governor  Kieft  conditions  in  New  Nether- 
land  assumed  no  better  aspect.  It  is  true  that  when 
trade  with  the  Indians  was  thrown  open  to  all  in 
1639  a  new  era  began  in  the  history  of  the  colony, 
communicating  a  decided  impulse  to  its  settlement 
and  to  the  increase  of  population,  for  fresh  colonists 
came  not  only  from  the  fatherland,  but  Englishmen 
came  also  from  Virginia  and  New  England.7  It  may 
be  that  free  farmers  at  Esopus,  New  Paltz,  Schenec- 
tady, and  on  Long  Island  experienced  a  certain  de- 
gree of  prosperity ;  but  the  Indian  trade  attracted  a 
large  number  of  people  who  cared  little  to  acquire 
a  permanent  domicile  in  New  Netherland :  they  came 
for  big  profits  and  sacrificed  honest  dealing  with  the 
Indians  in  order  to  realize  their  ambition.  They 
abused  the  privilege  of  free  trade  and  provoked  the 
Indians  to  a  series  of  massacres  extending  over 
nearly  three  years. 

For  several  years  the  Dutch  inhabitants  of  New 
Netherland  maintained  themselves  in  a  most  miser- 
able and  destitute  condition:  they  appealed  in  vain 
to  the  States-General  for  aid,  and  they  failed  to  ob- 
tain from  the  West  India  Company  such  supplies  as 
were  most  urgently  required  for  their  support  and 
protection.8  When  in  1644  comparative  peace  had 
been  restored  upon  the  high  seas  the  Company  was 
urged  once  more  to  facilitate  emigration  from  Hoi- 


20  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

land  by  promising  to  credit  prospective  colonists  with 
ocean  passage  to  America  and  by  introducing  farm 
servants  and  negroes  to  promote  agriculture.  More- 
over, New  Netherlander  were  instructed  not  to 
scatter  but  to  live  together  as  did  the  New  England- 
ers  in  order  to  protect  each  other. 

In  1649  the  people  of  New  Netherland  addressed 
to  the  States-General  of  Holland  a  long  petition, 
enumerating  the  causes  of  their  colony's  wretched 
condition  and  proposing  certain  remedies.  First  of 
all,  the  petitioners  complained  very  bitterly  of  the 
inhuman  cruelties,  tyranny,  and  misgovernment  of 
the  servants  of  the  West  India  Company  —  especial- 
ly Director  Kieft.  The  Directors,  they  declared,  had 
always  been  the  chief  obstruction  in  the  path  of  pro- 
gress because  they  preferred  to  secure  for  themselves 
large  profits  from  the  fur-trade  rather  than  to  pro- 
mote solid  agricultural  prosperity,  which  alone  could 
guarantee  the  survival  of  their  colony  in  America. 
Indeed,  they  had  listened  more  often  to  interested 
than  to  sound  advice  and  had  given  New  Netherland 
so  evil  a  reputation  that  not  only  prospective  colo- 
nists were  frightened  from  setting  out  to  try  their 
fortunes  in  such  a  country,  but  scores  of  dissatisfied 
settlers  returned  to  Holland  on  account  of  the  un- 
suitable government,  the  scant  privileges,  the  extor- 
tionate prices,  and  the  heavy  impost  duties.  The  pe- 
titioners called  attention  also  to  the  superabundance 
of  petty  traders  and  pedlers,  to  the  need  of  farmers, 
to  the  destitution  of  the  inhabitants  in  general,  and 
to  the  insufferable  arrogance  of  the  Indians. 


EARLY  DUTCH  SETTLEMENTS  21 


The  inhabitants  of  New  Netherland  proposed, 
among  several  remedies  for  the  evils  of  their  colony, 
the  abolition  of  duties  and  the  free  conveyance  of 
poor  people  from  Holland.  Their  humble  petition  to 
the  States-General  was  summed  up  in  these  words : 

Whenever  your  High  Mightinesses  will  be  pleased  to 
take  this  Province  under  your  gracious  safeguard,  and  al- 
low your  Fatherly  protection  for  this  Country  and  its 
granted  privileges  to  be  made  public  and  manifest  through- 
out the  United  Netherlands,  then  would  many  be  attracted 
towards  this  Country,  from  which,  on  the  contrary,  every 
one  is  discouraged  by  the  Company's  harsh  proceedings 
and  want  of  means.9 

There  is  no  evidence,  however,  that  the  Dutch 
government  ever  thereafter  took  an  active  interest 
in  the  welfare  of  her  American  colonists  —  except 
in  1656  when  the  States-General  ratified  the  condi- 
tions of  an  agreement  between  the  West  India  Com- 
pany and  the  city  of  Amsterdam,  offering  very  good 
encouragement  to  prospective  inhabitants  of  the 
city's  colony  on  the  Delaware  Eiver.10  It  was  not 
until  after  1652  that  agricultural  settlements  began 
to  grow  in  New  Netherland,  owing  to  the  influx  of 
Walloons,  Huguenots,  and  Waldenses  from  Europe 
and  Puritans  from  New  England.11  During  the  naval 
wars  between  England  and  Holland  the  province  of 
New  Netherland  lay  quite  defenceless,  and  Governor 
Stuyvesant's  appeals  to  his  profit-loving,  money- 
grabbing  superiors  went  unheeded.  Whatever  else 
may  be  said  about  the  English  capture  of  the  colony 
in  1664,  it  is  fairly  evident  that  a  change  of  masters 


22  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

was  not  especially  distasteful  or  disadvantageous  to 
the  Dutch  colonists :  they  had  little  to  lose  and  much 
to  gain.12 

Of  the  cosmopolitan  population  of  fifteen  hundred 
persons  in  New  Amsterdam  in  1664  more  than  one- 
half  were  Dutch.  The  same  is  true  of  the  three 
thousand  inhabitants  in  1674  when  the  Dutch  re- 
gained the  colony  for  a  short  period  of  ownership. 
The  entire  population  of  New  Netherland  when  trans- 
ferred to  the  English  is  variously  estimated:  eight 
thousand  is  considered  a  liberal  figure.  Of  these 
colonists  in  1664,  and  of  the  twelve  thousand  in  1674, 
two-thirds  were  probably  Dutch,  while  most  of  the 
remainder  were  English.  Agriculture  was  then  be- 
ginning to  prosper,  while  trade  was  profitable  and 
was  extending  farther  inland.  Gradually,  and  es- 
pecially under  a  Dutch  king  on  the  English  throne, 
the  two  chief  elements  of  the  population  of  New  York 
merged  and  fused  because  they  found  a  community 
of  interest  as  colonists,  entertained  a  common  hos- 
tility towards  France,  and  worshipped  God  in  much 
the  same  way.  In  1667  it  was  reported  that  there 
were  three  towns  and  fifteen  villages,  "  besides  divers 
extensive  Colonies,  bouweries  and  plantations"; 
while  in  1673  the  province  consisted  of  three  cities 
and  thirty  villages.13 

It  must  be  admitted  that  Dutch  emigrants  were 
by  no  means  successful  as  colonizers  in  America. 
They  were  never  numerous  enough  to  enable  Holland 
permanently  to  play  a  great  part  in  the  history  of 
American  colonization.    To  be  sure,  the  Dutch  were 


EARLY  DUTCH  SETTLEMENTS  23 

at  that  time  not  an  emigrating  but  a  trading  people ; 
and  yet  the  failure  of  their  American  colony  in  the 
seventeenth  century  should  not  be  attributed  wholly 
to  their  character  as  a  nation  of  seamen  and  traders. 
That  they  have  always  preferred  to  cultivate  domes- 
tic virtues  rather  than  a  love  of  conquest  and  adven- 
ture there  can  be  no  question.14 

It  has  been  asserted  that  the  Dutch  could  never 
have  peopled  a  continent,  on  the  ground  that  after 
forty  years  of  possession  "of  the  fairest  part  of 
America  they  numbered  but  ten  thousand",  while  the 
Puritan  colonies  of  New  England  contained  fifty 
thousand.15  That  this  fact  should  demonstrate  the 
utter  incapacity  of  the  Dutch  for  colonization  and 
their  lack  of  fitness  to  found  a  colonial  empire  does 
not  necessarily  follow.  Widely  different  conditions 
prevailed  in  England  and  Holland.  Nor  is  it  dim- 
cult  to  explain  why  the  Dutch  came  chiefly  to  trade, 
while  the  English  came  to  build  homes.  At  that 
period  in  the  world's  history  there  was  no  particular 
reason  why  large  numbers  of  Dutch  emigrants 
should  forsake  their  European  homes  to  entrust 
themselves  to  the  uncertainties  of  a  foreign  land:  as 
long  as  civil  and  religious  contentment  reigned  in 
Holland  the  people  did  not  care  to  live  elsewhere. 

Dutch  colonization  in  America  was  really  a  cir- 
cumstance attendant  upon  the  religious  and  political 
struggle  between  The  Netherlands  and  Spain.  Only 
large  numbers  of  colonists  bent  upon  economic  and 
religious  independence  could  have  coped  successfully 
with  the  Indian  population  of  New  Netherland.    The 


24  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

few  thousands  of  Hollanders  who  ventured  to  cast  in 
their  lot  with  the  New  World  suffered  much  from  the 
lack  of  protection  which  had  been  promised  to  them. 
All  this  was  to  be  expected  from  a  commercial  cor- 
poration actuated  wholly  by  the  love  of  wealth ;  and 
so  when  the  Dutch  colonists  became  incorporated 
into  the  British  colonial  empire  they  had  no  sufficient 
excuse  for  showing  a  vigorous  spirit  of  nationality. 
The  English  Puritans  who  had  sought  the  shores  of 
America  for  conscience  sake  were  people  of  property 
and  education:  from  sheer  necessity  they  had  been 
compelled  to  leave  their  homes  and  to  adapt  them- 
selves to  the  rigors  of  frontier  life.  Everything  con- 
duced to  the  spread  of  the  English  into  America; 
while  in  the  case  of  the  Dutch  the  same  causes  and 
incentives  were  almost  entirely  lacking. 


II 

DUTCH  IMMIGRATION  AFTER  1664 

It  is  common  knowledge  that  during  the  colonial 
period  the  English-speaking  population  of  America 
was  constantly  reinforced  by  fresh  accessions  of 
people  from  the  British  Isles,  and  that  to-day  the 
American  nation  is  dominated  by  Anglo-Saxon  in- 
fluences. Equally  worthy  of  note  is  the  fact  that, 
although  for  over  a  century  and  a  half  after  the  Eng- 
lish conquest  of  New  Netherland  the  immigration  of 
Hollanders  from  Europe  had  practically  ceased,  at 
least  so  far  as  the  number  of  arrivals  can  be  ascer- 
tained, the  eight  or  ten  thousand  Dutch  colonists  of 
1664  nevertheless  throve  and  flourished  in  the  val- 
leys of  the  Hudson  and  the  Mohawk  rivers  in  New 
York  and  in  northern  New  Jersey  and  Delaware. 
There  the  seeds  of  a  Dutch  population  took  firm  root 
and  grew  vigorously,  as  is  shown  by  the  history  of 
the  one  important  institution  which  the  United  States 
has  inherited  from  New  Netherland  —  the  Dutch 
Reformed  Church.16 

The  influence  of  Dutch  ideas  as  exemplified  by  the 
continuity  of  the  Reformed  Church  has  never  been 
absent  in  those  eastern  States  where  the  Dutch  origi- 
nally settled.  As  a  matter  of  fact  the  American 
descendants   of    the   original   Dutch    settlers   have 

25 


26  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

shown  that  they  are  tenacious  of  the  customs  and 
ideals  which  their  church  organization  and  home  life 
have  preserved  and  handed  down  to  them.  This 
more  than  anything  else  disproves  the  assertion  that 
early  Dutch  colonization  was  but  an  episode  or  an 
event  of  trifling  importance  in  American  colonial 
history.17 

Probably  no  better  light  can  be  shed  upon  the 
growth  of  the  Dutch  element  in  the  United  States 
than  that  which  comes  from  the  history  of  the  Dutch 
Reformed  Church  —  though  of  course  it  would  smack 
of  presumption  to  infer  that  all  descendants  of  the 
early  Dutch  have  maintained  the  church  connection 
of  their  fathers,  or  that  all  Dutch  immigrants  to 
America  have  united  with  the  church.  Bearing  in 
mind  the  fact  that  Hollanders  are  endowed  with  a 
strong  feeling  of  national  pride  and  are  pretty  gen- 
erally partial  to  ancestral  ways  and  beliefs,  it  is 
natural  to  assume  that  wherever  the  Dutch  have  come 
together  to  live  they  have  retained  their  national  in- 
stitutions, traits,  and  traditions  whenever  practi- 
cable. 

When  English  domination  began  in  New  Nether- 
land  there  were  eleven  Dutch  churches :  four  on  Long 
Island  at  Midwout  (Flatbush),  Amersfoort  (Flat- 
lands),  Breuckelen  (Brooklyn),  and  Gravesend;  one 
at  Bergen,  New  Jersey;  one  at  New  Amstel  (New 
Castle),  Delaware;  and  five  in  New  York  at  Manhat- 
tan or  New  Amsterdam,  Fort  Orange  (Albany), 
Esopus  (Kingston),  Haarlem,  and  Bushwyck.  De- 
spite the  amalgamation  of  Dutch  and  English  which 


DUTCH  IMMIGRATION  AFTER  1664  27 


ensued,  the  Hollanders  remained  predominant  in  the 
population  of  New  York  and  continued  to  speak  their 
native  language  in  the  Reformed  Church  for  almost 
one  hundred  years ;  while  the  Church  itself,  depend- 
ing to  a  large  extent  upon  the  state  church  of  Hol- 
land, looked  in  that  direction  for  its  ministers  until 
1772  when  national  ties  were  finally  broken.18 

For  many  years  after  1664  the  Dutch  carried  on 
a  successful  struggle  in  New  York  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  their  religious  liberty  and  church  organiza- 
tion, and  owing  to  the  oppressions  of  English  gover- 
nors many  emigrated  and  formed  congregations  in 
the  valleys  of  the  Raritan  and  the  Millstone  in  north- 
ern New  Jersey,  a  region  which  on  account  of  its 
spiritual  prosperity  has  come  to  be  known  as  "the 
Garden  of  the  Dutch  Church".  Here  the  people 
afterwards  established  a  college  and  a  theological 
seminary.  At  the  end  of  their  prolonged  fight 
against  the  attempt  to  foist  the  Anglican  Church  es- 
tablishment upon  them,  the  Dutch  could  boast  of  an 
increase  from  eleven  churches  in  1664  to  thirty-four 
in  1708.19 

From  such  feeble  beginnings  in  1664  under  par- 
ticularly trying  conditions,  although  the  political  in- 
stitutions and  language  of  the  Dutch  were  in  course 
of  time  almost  entirely  wiped  out  and  supplanted  by 
those  of  the  English,  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  in 
America  developed  and  prospered  until  by  the  year 
1840  it  comprised  a  membership  of  several  hundred 
churches  in  the  States  of  New  York  and  New  Jersey ; 
while  a  few  scattered  congregations  existed  in  Penn- 


28  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

sylvania,  whither  a  stream  of  emigration  from  New 
Jersey  had  started  towards  the  close  of  the  eight- 
eenth century.  Descendants  of  Dutch  ancestors  took 
a  prominent  part  in  the  westward  movement  which 
set  in  after  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War.  They 
were  among  the  pioneers  of  western  New  York  and 
of  Kentucky,  whence  it  is  said  "as  from  a  hive, 
colonies  swarmed  off  into  southern  Ohio  and  In- 
diana. ' '  Indeed,  the  names  of  Dutch  pioneers  can  be 
found  throughout  the  American  West.  At  the  same 
time  it  would  be  quite  impossible  to  determine  the 
number  of  descendants  of  the  original  Dutch  colo- 
nists of  New  Netherlands0 

There  may  have  been  a  slight  movement  of  people 
from  Holland  immediately  after  the  peace  treaty  of 
1783,  but  there  is  no  government  record  of  immigra- 
tion prior  to  1821.  Conjecture  places  the  number  of 
immigrants  to  the  United  States  before  1820  at  about 
4000  annually,  and  of  these  the  Hollanders  can  not 
have  counted  more  than  a  small  fraction.  Statistics 
indicate  that  for  the  first  two  decades  of  the  record 
only  2500  Hollanders  arrived  at  American  ports, 
but  for  the  years  1841-1902  inclusive  The  Nether- 
lands contributed  more  than  135,000  immigrants  to 
the  population  of  the  United  States.21  To  be  sure, 
this  is  a  small  percentage  of  the  20,000,000  foreigners 
who  sought  American  shores ;  but  the  Hollanders 
and  their  descendants  have  been  a  desirable  and  wel- 
come factor  in  promoting  the  development  and  pros- 
perity of  the  country. 

During  the  more   recent  years   the   Hollanders 


DUTCH  IMMIGRATION  AFTER  1664  29 


have  formed  large  communities  in  the  upper  Missis- 
sippi Valley  —  chiefly  in  Michigan,  Illinois,  Iowa, 
Minnesota,  and  Wisconsin  —  though  thousands  have 
found  homes  also  in  New  York  and  New  Jersey. 
Census  returns  for  1900  gave  these  seven  States  the 
largest  number  of  foreign-born  Dutch,  though  every 
State  and  Territory  in  the  Union  contained  some 
Hollanders  in  its  population.22 

Other  indexes  suggestive  of  the  numerical 
strength  of  the  Hollanders  in  various  States  of  the 
Union  are  recent  church  year-books.  While  the 
number  of  foreign-born  Dutch  in  New  York  and  New 
Jersey  is  comparatively  small,  it  appears  that  of 
nearly  700  congregations  of  the  Reformed  Church  in 
America  the  former  State  has  over  300,  and  the  lat- 
ter 125.  Then  follow  Michigan  with  62,  Iowa  with 
50,  Illinois  with  33,  South  Dakota  with  20,  Wisconsin 
with  15,  Minnesota  with  11,  and  Pennsylvania  with 
10.  Kansas,  North  Dakota,  Nebraska,  Montana, 
Colorado,  Washington,  Ohio,  Indiana,  South  Caro- 
lina, and  Maine  have  a  few  churches  each.  Further- 
more, there  are  about  200  congregations  of  another 
denomination,  the  Christian  Reformed  Church, 
planted  for  the  most  part  in  the  western  States  and 
therefore  more  solidly  Dutch  than  the  Reformed 
Church  congregations,  whose  membership,  in  the 
East  especially,  consists  by  no  means  exclusively  of 
Hollanders.23 


Ill 

HOLLAND  IN  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY 

The  causes  which  brought  about  the  extraordinary 
migrations  from  Europe  to  America  during  the  nine- 
teenth century  were  primarily  economic.  No  cor- 
responding period  in  the  world's  history  illustrates 
more  forcibly  the  well-known  simile  that  population 
is  like  a  fluid :  when  the  saturation  point  is  reached, 
emigration  is  the  natural  consequence.  During  the 
first  half  of  the  century  the  population  of  nearly 
every  country  in  Europe  reached  such  density  and 
laborers  became  so  plentiful  that  the  masses  of  the 
people  were  forced  to  seek  a  way  of  escape  from 
degradation  and  starvation. 

In  The  Netherlands  during  the  early  decades  of 
the  nineteenth  century  social  conditions  were  as  un- 
favorable generally  as  they  were  everywhere  else  in 
Europe.  There,  religious  and  economic  factors 
joined  hands  and  caused  thousands  of  discouraged 
and  dissatisfied  people  to  long  for  a  New  World.  A 
closer  view  of  the  history  of  Holland  reveals  the 
motives  which  contributed  to  bring  about  the  first 
extensive  emigration  of  Hollanders  to  the  primeval 
forests  of  Michigan  and  the  virgin  prairies  of  Iowa 
and  other  western  States.24 

Upon  coming  to  the  throne  of  Holland  in  1814 

30 


HOLLAND  IN  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY    31 

William  I  at  once  turned  his  attention  to  the  state 
church  which  had  suffered  much  humiliation  at  the 
hands  of  Napoleon  and  the  French  and  which  was 
therefore  eager  to  return  to  royal  favor  at  whatever 
cost.  He  approved  a  set  of  general  regulations  to  be 
used  by  a  central  board  for  administrative  purposes. 
These  regulations  prescribed  the  maintenance  of  the 
creed  as  embodied  in  the  Dutch  Confession  of  Faith, 
the  Heidelberg  Catechism,  and  the  Doctrinal  Rules 
of  the  Synod  of  Dort  of  1618. 

Church  government  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  a 
general  synod  composed  of  delegates  from  provin- 
cial synods,  whose  selection  was  to  remain  under 
royal  control.  Ecclesiastical  property  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  state;  and  the  clergy  were  henceforth 
to  receive  their  salaries  from  the  state  exchequer, 
thus  being  bound  to  the  king  by  spiritual  and  finan- 
cial ties.  Furthermore,  the  clergy  were  to  be  edu- 
cated at  the  three  universities  of  Utrecht,  Leyden, 
and  Groningen,  whose  theological  professors  were 
by  law  declared  state  officers,  since  they  were  chosen, 
appointed,  and  salaried  by  the  government.  Thus 
the  Presbyterian  form  of  church  government  was 
reduced  to  an  oligarchy  under  the  king's  patronage.25 

Irregularities  in  the  Church  and  deviation  from 
its  doctrines  were  conspicuous  enough  to  alarm  the 
orthodox,  conservative  Christians  throughout  the 
country  —  especially  when  the  general  synod,  en- 
dowed with  autocratic  powers,  did  nothing  to  lessen 
existing  grievances.  At  length  in  1834,  under  the 
leadership  of  a  few  clergymen,  scores  of  people  se- 


32  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

ceded  from  the  state  church  and  formed  small  con- 
gregations. The  seceding  clergymen  were  Henry 
de  Cock,  Henry  Peter  Scholte,  Anthony  Brunimel- 
karnp,  S.  van  Velzen,  G.  F.  Gezelle  Meerburg,  and 
Albertus  C.  van  Raalte.26  Of  this  group  of  men,  all 
of  whom  were  excommunicated  from  the  Church, 
Scholte  was  undoubtedly  the  foremost  figure.  In- 
deed he  has  been  called  the  "Father  of  the  Separa- 
tion", and  he  it  was  who  later  led  hundreds  of  his 
fellow-countrymen  to  the  State  of  Iowa.27 

But  King  William  was  a  man  who  would  not  al- 
low his  pet  schemes  to  be  overridden.  It  is  almost 
incredible  that  a  government  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury should  have  stooped  to  bitter  religious  persecu- 
tion —  especially  in  Holland  so  long  famed  for  her 
tolerance  and  freedom  of  worship.  One  can  not  help 
marveling  at  the  petty  nature  of  the  measures  taken 
by  the  Dutch  government  to  suppress  the  Separatist 
movement.  Though  Scholte  and  his  colleagues  were 
declared  unsuitable  and  unworthy  to  preach,  they 
were  by  no  means  deserted  by  their  congregations. 
Nor  did  they  desist  from  preaching.  The  result  was 
that  everywhere  small  congregations  were  formed 
and  the  new  Separatist  church  became  definitely  es- 
tablished. 

In  their  endeavors  to  restore  purity  of  doctrine 
and  to  preach  God's  Word,  the  Separatist  clergymen 
were  hindered  in  every  possible  way.  Under  cover 
of  an  article  of  the  Code  Napoleon  forbidding  as- 
semblies of  more  than  twenty  persons  without  a 
license  from  the  local  authorities,  the  government 


HOLLAND  IN  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY    33 


used  every  means  to  disperse  Separatist  meetings, 
whether  held  in  barns,  in  the  open  air,  or  in  private 
houses.  Thus  the  police  took  a  hand  in  breaking  up 
local  gatherings;  and  numerous  Separatists  were 
prosecuted  and  punished  with  fines  or  imprisonment. 
Worst  of  all,  wherever  the  new  movement  claimed 
an  especially  large  number  of  adherents,  the  govern- 
ment used  its  authority  to  quarter  troops  in  order  to 
overawe  the  people  and  prevent  mutiny.28 

The  Separatists  had,  moreover,  to  suffer  all  the 
penalties  imposed  by  law.  Scholte,  one  of  their 
leaders,  could  write  that  he  had  experienced  military 
watches,  imprisonments,  and  the  payment  of  fines 
and  court  costs  amounting  to  $3200.  But  even  more 
intolerable  were  the  taunts  and  ridicule  heaped  upon 
the  Separatists  by  other  inhabitants  of  The  Nether- 
lands. Scholte  complained  that  he  had  been  derided, 
hit  with  stones  and  fists,  and  when  hundreds  of  hands 
were  raised  against  him  he  had  heard  the  excited 
mob  cry  out,  "Kill  him,  kill  him!"  29 

Despite  the  government's  relentless  persecution, 
the  religious  beliefs  of  the  Separatists  spread  until 
they  were  finally  recognized  by  royal  decree  in  1839. 
Seven  years  later,  however,  two  of  their  leaders  still 
loudly  exclaimed  against  local  government  officials 
who  employed  every  means  to  postpone  the  granting 
of  permission  to  preach  as  the  new  law  obliged  them 
to  do  and  who,  furthermore,  received  the  encourage- 
ment of  "nearly  all  who  call  themselves  noble  and 
religious"  —  although  some  would  gladly  have 
granted  what  the  law  enjoined  had  they  not  felt 


34  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

''that  thereby  they  would  fall  into  disfavor  with  au- 
thorities higher  up. ' '  Even  as  late  as  1846  the  com- 
plaint was  sometimes  heard  that  citizens  were  being 
dragged  into  court  and  fined  for  the  misdemeanor 
"of  using  their  houses  for  the  worship  of  God  with- 
out the  government's  authority,  and  for  preaching 
the  name  of  Christ  crucified"  to  more  than  twenty 
persons.30 

In  the  minds  of  the  Dissenters  there  was  one 
other  object  of  prime  importance,  namely,  Christian 
education.  Everywhere  arose  a  crying  demand  for 
the  improvement  of  the  system  of  popular  education ; 
and  yet  those  who  wished  to  take  the  pains  and  bear 
the  expense  of  organizing  Christian  schools  were 
hindered  by  the  local  authorities.  They  desired  the 
privilege  of  educating  their  children  in  their  own 
schools  inasmuch  as  the  state  offered  only  a  general 
education  in  morals,  which  neither  Jew  nor  Roman 
Catholic  might  refuse.  But  the  government  looked 
upon  special  schools  with  unconcealed  disfavor  and 
forbade  the  founding  of  such  institutions.31 

Just  how  much  effect  the  religious  beliefs  of  the 
Dissenters  had  upon  their  chances  of  earning  a  live- 
lihood can  not  be  stated  with  certainty.  That  these 
people  were  oppressed,  despised,  and  cast  out  there 
can  be  little  doubt.  But  even  so,  the  mass  of  laborers 
in  Holland  at  this  time  lived  upon  the  verge  of  star- 
vation. When  a  small  farm  was  placed  on  the  mar- 
ket for  rent  or  for  sale,  a  score  or  two  of  men  found 
it  a  suitable  opportunity  for  speculation.  When  a 
house  was  to  be  built,  a  score  of  carpenters  offered 


HOLLAND  IN  THE  NINETEENTH  CENTURY    35 

bids.  These  and  many  other  instances  indicate  that 
economic  conditions  were  extremely  bad  throughout 
the  country. 

The  masses  of  the  people  were  being  crushed  by 
a  system  of  taxation  devised  to  liquidate  the  enor- 
mous national  debt  which  had  been  heaped  up  from 
years  of  war.  Many  branches  of  industry  and  com- 
merce had  disappeared,  although  others  continued 
to  thrive.  Hundreds  of  ordinary  workmen  lost  their 
means  of  earning  bread.  Even  skilled  artisans  com- 
plained of  the  lack  of  labor  during  the  busiest  season 
of  the  year.  There  was  as  a  consequence  so  much 
competition  in  the  labor  market  that  wages  were  re- 
duced to  pathetically  low  figures.  Workmen,  upon 
whom  children  and  sometimes  relatives  depended, 
sought  in  vain  for  an  opportunity  to  make  so  much 
as  a  bare  living.  Brought  to  the  point  of  stealing, 
thousands  hopelessly  surrendered  themselves  to  be 
supported  by  the  state.  Eight  million  dollars  were 
annually  expended  upon  them  by  the  Dutch  govern- 
ment; while  private  benefactions  were  at  the  same 
time  enormous.  National  deterioration  was  daily 
being  aggravated  by  the  lamentable  undermining  of 
trade,  the  decrease  of  wages,  unscrupulous  competi- 
tion, and  exhaustive  taxation.  "The  third  estate  is 
disappearing,  the  capital  of  the  rich  increases,  and 
day  laborers  very  often  fail  in  their  most  serious  en- 
deavors to  find  either  regular  work  or  bread." 

Scholte  declared  that  though  the  condition  of  his 
fatherland  did  not  yet  make  emigration  inevitable  he 
was  forced  to  acknowledge  that  if  a  change  were  not 


36  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 


soon  effected  a  Christian  would  find  it  impossible  to 
engage  in  any  business  without  offending  his  con- 
science. He  could  not  close  his  eyes  to  the  increasing 
poverty  of  his  fellow-countrymen :  from  the  picture 
of  their  struggles  and  privations  he  could  find  no 
relief.32 


IV 

WHY  DUTCH  EMIGRANTS  TURNED  TO 
AMERICA 

Such  was  the  condition  of  things  in  The  Netherlands 
that  thousands  of  people  lived  from  hand  to  mouth, 
the  prey  of  poverty  and  hunger,  stupefied  by  the 
hopelessness  of  securing  the  necessities  of  life,  and 
barely  enabled  through  the  gifts  of  the  well-to-do  to 
drag  out  their  wretched  lives.  At  the  same  time 
many  of  these  unfortunate  persons  were  hopeful  and 
eager  to  find  a  place  where  they  might  obtain  a  liveli- 
hood, lead  quiet  lives  of  honesty  and  godliness,  and 
educate  their  children  in  the  principles  of  religion 
without  let  or  hindrance.  The  leaders  of  the  Sepa- 
ratists looked  forward  to  a  life  of  freedom  in  a  land 
where  man  would  not  have  to  wait  for  work  but 
where  work  awaited  man,  where  people  would  not 
rub  elbows  by  reason  of  the  density  of  population, 
and  where  God 's  creation  would  welcome  the  coming 
of  man.33 

When  social  forces  such  as  these,  mostly  beyond 
human  control,  began  to  operate  with  increasing 
power  the  Dutch  people  were  not  slow  to  recognize 
the  truth  that  emigration  was  absolutely  necessary. 
The  seriousness  of  the  situation  dawned  upon  all 
thinking  men  —  especially  upon  state^  officials,  who 

37 


38  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

feared  that  unless  the  stream  of  emigration  could  be 
directed  toward  the  Dutch  colonies  their  country 
would  suffer  an  enormous  drain  of  capital  and  human 
lives.  Accordingly  the  attention  of  prospective  emi- 
grants was  called  to  the  Dutch  East  Indies  —  chiefly 
to  the  advantages  of  the  rich  island  of  Java,  "that 
paradise  of  the  world,  the  pearl  in  Holland's  crown". 

The  religion  of  the  Dissenters,  however,  was  re- 
sponsible for  turning  the  balance  in  favor  of  some 
other  land.  To  them  Java  was  as  a  closed  door.  Be- 
side the  fear  of  an  unhealthful  climate  towered  the 
certainty  of  legislation  hostile  to  their  Christian 
principles  and  ideals.  Moreover,  could  poor  men 
afford  the  expense  of  transportation  thither  and 
could  they  feel  assured  of  getting  land  or  work  in 
Java?  State  officials,  men  of  learning,  and  men  of 
business  from  several  parts  of  the  country  were  sum- 
moned to  an  important  conference  at  Amsterdam  to 
discuss  the  whole  emigration  movement.  The  Sepa- 
ratist leaders  were  asked  why  they  should  not  remain 
Netherlander  under  the  House  of  Orange  by  remov- 
ing to  the  colonies  just  as  the  people  of  the  British 
Isles  found  homes  in  the  English  colonies.  Two 
Separatist  ministers  appealed  to  the  government  to 
direct  the  flood  of  emigration  toward  Java  by  prom- 
ises of  civil  and  religious  liberty.  But  the  attempt 
to  secure  a  free  Christian  colony  in  Java  produced 
only  idle  expectations.34 

Then  it  was  that  the  people  turned  their  eyes 
away  from  the  East  toward  the  United  States  of 
North  America,  a  land  of  freedom  and  rich  blessings 


WHY  THE  DUTCH  TURNED  TO  AMERICA   39 


where  they  hoped  to  find  in  its  unsettled  interior 
some  spot  adaptable  to  agriculture  and  thus  rescue 
themselves  from  the  miseries  of  a  decadent  state. 
To  the  discontented,  ambitious  Hollander  was  pre- 
sented the  picture  of  a  real  land  of  promise,  where 
all  things  would  smile  at  him  and  be  prepared,  as  it 
were,  to  aid  him.  It  was  said  that  "after  an  ocean 
passage  of  trifling  expense  the  Netherlander  may 
find  work  to  do  as  soon  as  he  sets  foot  on  shore ;  he 
may  buy  land  for  a  few  florins  per  acre;  and  feel 
secure  and  free  among  a  people  of  Dutch,  German 
and  English  birth,  who  will  rejoice  to  see  him  come 
to  increase  the  nation's  wealth."  Asserting  that 
they  could  vouch  for  the  truthfulness  of  this  picture, 
as  based  on  the  positive  assurances  and  experiences 
of  friends  already  in  America,  the  Separatist  clergy- 
man-pamphleteers openly  declared  that  they  would 
not  hesitate  to  rob  Holland  of  her  best  citizens  by 
helping  them  on  their  way  to  America. 

Of  the  people  and  government  of  the  United 
States,  Scholte,  who  was  destined  to  lead  hundreds 
of  his  countrymen  to  the  State  of  Iowa,  at  an  early 
date  cherished  a  highly  favorable  opinion,  which  he 
expressed  as  follows : 

I  am  convinced  that  a  settlement  in  some  healthful 
region  there  will  have,  by  the  ordinary  blessing  of  God,  ex- 
cellent temporal  and  moral  results,  especially  for  the  rising 
generation.  .  .  .  Should  it  then  excite  much  wonder  that 
I  have  firmly  resolved  to  leave  The  Netherlands  and  together 
with  so  many  Christian  relatives  adopt  the  United  States 
as  a  new  fatherland? 


40  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

There  I  shall  certainly  meet  with  the  same  wickedness 
which  troubles  me  here;  yet  I  shall  find  also  opportunity 
to  work.  There  I  shall  certainly  find  the  same,  if  not  still 
greater,  evidence  of  unbelief  and  superstition;  but  I  shall 
also  find  a  constitutional  provision  which  does  not  bind  my 
hands  in  the  use  of  the  Sword  of  the  Spirit,  which  is  the 
Word  of  God ;  there  I  can  fight  for  what  I  believe  without 
being  disobedient  to  the  magistrates  and  authorities  or- 
dained by  God.  There  I  shall  find  among  men  the  same 
zeal  to  obtain  this  world's  goods;  but  I  shall  not  find  the 
same  impulse  to  get  the  better  of  one  another,  for  compe- 
tition is  open  to  all ;  I  shall  not  find  the  same  desire  to  re- 
duce the  wages  of  labor,  nor  the  same  inducement  to  avoid 
taxation,  nor  the  same  peevishness  and  groaning  about  the 
burden  of  taxation. 

There  I  shall  find  no  Minister  of  Public  Worship,  for 
the  separation  of  Church  and  State  is  a  fact.  There  I  shall 
not  need  to  contribute  to  the  support  of  pastors  whose 
teachings  I  abhor.  I  shall  find  no  school  commissions  nor 
school  supervisors  who  prohibit  the  use  of  the  Bible  in 
schools  and  hinder  the  organization  of  special  schools,  for 
education  is  really  free.  I  shall  find  there  the  descendants 
of  earlier  inhabitants  of  Holland,  among  whom  the  piety  of 
our  forefathers  still  lives,  and  who  are  now  prepared  to  give 
advice  and  aid  to  Hollanders  who  are  forced  to  come  to 
them.33 

Scholte,  however,  never  claimed  to  be  a  refugee 
from  the  oppression  of  the  Old  World.  He  left 
Europe  because  the  social,  religious,  and  political 
condition  of  his  native  country  was  such  that,  accord- 
ing to  his  conviction,  he  could  not  with  any  reason- 
able hope  of  success  work  for  the  actual  benefit  of 


WHY  THE  DUTCH  TURNED  TO  AMERICA   41 

honest  and  industrious  fellowmen.  Very  many  mem- 
bers of  Scholte's  emigrant  association  felt  certain 
that  they  and  their  children  would  sink  from  the  mid- 
dle class  and  end  their  lives  as  paupers,  if  they  re- 
mained in  Holland. 

Later  emigration  to  America  was  in  no  small  de- 
gree due  to  a  cause  which  has  always  operated  in 
inducing  people  to  abandon  their  European  homes. 
After  a  period  of  residence  in  America,  Hollanders, 
elated  by  reason  of  their  prosperity  and  general 
change  of  fortune,  very  naturally  reported  their  de- 
light to  friends  and  relatives  in  the  fatherland, 
strongly  urging  them  to  come  and  share  their  good 
luck  instead  of  suffering  from  want  in  Holland. 
They  wrote  of  higher  wages,  fertile  soil,  cheapness  of 
the  necessities  of  life,  abundance  of  cheap  land,  and 
of  many  other  advantages.  If  one's  wages  for  a 
day's  work  in  America  equalled  a  week's  earnings  in 
Holland,  surely  it  was  worth  while  to  leave  that  un- 
fortunate country.  Such  favorable  reports  as  these 
were  largely  instrumental  in  turning  the  attention 
of  Hollanders  to  the  New  World  as  the  one  great 
land  of  opportunity.36 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  AMERICA 

No  sooner  had  the  ferment  caused  by  over-popula- 
tion, scarcity  of  work,  and  religious  discontent  shown 
its  effect  in  the  stir  of  people  desirous  of  finding  re- 
lief in  the  New  World  than  certain  leaders  arose  to 
give  advice  and  directions.  Chief  among  these  were 
the  dissenting  clergymen  van  Raalte,  Brummelkamp, 
and  Scholte,  who  as  pamphleteers  and  speakers  ex- 
erted a  powerful  influence  upon  the  emigration  move- 
ment. They  perceived  the  perils  which  might  flow 
from  indiscreet  and  indiscriminate  emigration,  and 
accordingly  they  cautioned  prospective  emigrants 
against  removing  to  America  without  all  necessary 
information.  Among  the  numerous  dangers  which 
they  foresaw  and  most  earnestly  pointed  out  were 
settling  in  the  fatally  hot  marsh  and  rice  lands  of  the 
slave  States  and  scattering  among  English-speaking 
people  —  two  disadvantages  which  were  capable  of 
rendering  Hollanders  extremely  miserable. 

In  view  of  such  risks  the  Separatist  clergymen 
not  only  urged  the  formation  of  emigrant  associa- 
tions, but  assisted  in  their  organization  in  various 
parts  of  Holland.  These  societies,  which  consisted 
of  the  heads  of  families  and  other  members  of  church 
congregations  and  which  were  not  limited  to  Dissen- 

42 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  AMERICA  43 

ters,  were  formed  to  procure  funds  to  defray  the 
expenses  of  emigration  and  to  serve  their  members 
in  every  possible  way.  Profane,  immoral,  or  intem- 
perate persons  were  not  admitted  to  membership. 
Avowed  atheists,  skeptics,  and  Roman  Catholics  also 
were  excluded.  Those  members  who  could  command 
the  means  were  expected  to  take  charge  of  one  or 
more  poor  but  worthy  persons  or  families  desiring 
to  emigrate. 

The  leaders  at  once  began  to  search  for  a  region 
in  America  with  temperate  climate  and  one  from 
which  the  inhabitants  might  easily  transport  their 
products :  there  the  emigrant  associations  might  sep- 
arately or  jointly  establish  themselves.  In  advocat- 
ing the  purchase  of  sufficient  land  in  one  locality  the 
members  of  the  associations  had  their  own  personal 
interests  at  heart.  They  wished  to  make  scattering 
impossible,  to  prevent  their  colony  from  becoming 
the  hiding-place  of  those  who  desired  to  escape  their 
creditors;  and  they  hoped  to  secure  themselves 
against  undesirable  persons  in  general.  But  first 
of  all  they  determined  in  this  way  to  provide  for  their 
own  form  of  religious  worship,  Christian  education, 
and  prompt  medical  attention.37  In  associations, 
therefore,  the  clergyman  leaders  saw  strength  — 
' '  eendracht  maakt  macht. ' ' 

The  reason  which  moved  such  clergymen  as  van 
Raalte  and  Scholte  to  encourage  people  to  emigrate 
in  bodies  was  traceable  to  the  intimate  relations 
existing  between  them  and  their  congregations.  For 
many  years  they  had  striven  and  suffered  together, 


44  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

and  at  the  price  of  much  self-sacrifice  they  had  in 
some  measure  realized  their  aspirations.  Would  not 
this  whole  gain  be  rendered  of  no  account  if  the  Dis- 
senters spread  themselves  among  strangers  in  a 
strange  land,  and  would  they  not  be  as  sheep  without 
a  shepherd?  "That  they  had  the  courage,  in  the 
interests  of  their  followers,  to  break  the  chains  which 
bound  them  to  the  fatherland  is  to  the  honor  of 
Scholte  and  van  Raalte,  and  sets  the  stamp  of  up- 
rightness on  their  intentions."  Thus  the  destinies 
of  pastors  and  flocks  became  linked  together.38 

After  much  discussion  of  the  subject  of  emigra- 
tion at  informal  gatherings  and  also  in  Scholte 's 
periodical  devoted  to  the  religious  views  of  the  new 
sect,  a  formal  meeting  was  called  in  the  city  of 
Utrecht  in  the  month  of  August,  1846.  An  emigrant 
association  was  formed  of  nearly  seventy  well-to-do 
families,  mostly  from  the  province  of  South  Holland. 
Later  many  more  families  from  other  provinces 
joined,  so  that  the  society  is  said  to  have  had  one 
thousand  three  hundred  members.39  A  committee  of 
delegates  selected  from  various  congregations  of 
Dissenters  to  draw  up  rules  to  govern  the  emigration 
movement  convened  at  Utrecht  on  September  4, 1846. 
When  they  computed  the  amount  of  land  which  the 
association  was  prepared  to  buy  it  was  found  that 
the  members  had  subscribed  for  the  purchase  of 
twelve  square  miles  of  territory.  Later  the  pur- 
chase of  much  additional  land  was  authorized. 

During  the  summer  of  1846  certain  members  of 
the  Utrecht  association  decided  to  undertake  the 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  AMERICA  45 

journey  to  America  as  soon  as  possible.  Although 
they  had  not  yet  determined  which  part  of  the  United 
States  would  be  most  suitable  for  settlement,  these 
Hollanders,  numbering  thirty  persons  young  and  old, 
being  the  first  emigrants  who  later  founded  homes  in 
the  State  of  Iowa,  bade  farewell  to  their  friends  and 
fatherland  on  October  2, 1846. 

This  little  band  of  people  paved  the  way  for  the 
exodus  of  Hollanders  the  following  spring.  As  fore- 
runners of  Dutch  emigration  to  the  Middle  West  of 
America,  in  company  with  home-seekers  from  other 
parts  of  Europe,  they  set  sail  from  Rotterdam.  After 
being  detained  by  a  three  days '  storm  in  the  English 
Channel  their  ship  was  steered  into  the  North  Sea 
along  the  eastern  coast  of  England  and  around  Scot- 
land, and  thence,  with  favorable  wind  and  weather 
they  completed  forty-five  days  of  sailing  and  set  foot 
upon  American  soil  at  New  Orleans,  Louisiana,  on 
November  19,  1846.  Hendrik  Barendregt,  the  leader 
of  the  party,  in  a  letter  to  Scholte  from  St.  Louis 
dated  December  14,  1846,  praised  and  thanked  the 
Lord  "who  has  shown  us  day  by  day  that  He  is  with 
us  and  out  of  his  abundant  love  has  led  and  saved  us, 
and  given  us  strength,  even  more  than  we  could  ex- 
pect." He  described  the  five-thousand-mile  water 
journey,  and  on  conditions  in  the  Mississippi  Valley 
he  made  many  intelligent  observations  which  afford- 
ed much  instruction  and  information  to  oncoming 
emigrants  from  Holland.40     (See  Appendix  A.) 

At  the  last  meeting  of  the  Utrecht  association, 
which  was  held  on  the  25th  of  December,  1846,  the 


46  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

members  adopted  a  constitution,  elected  H.P.Scholte 
and  A.  J.  Betten  president  and  vice-president  re- 
spectively, and  chose  as  council  J.  F.  Le  Cocq,  G.  H. 
Overkamp,  A.  Wigny,  and  J.  Rietveld,  with  I.  Over- 
kamp  as  secretary.  They  fixed  upon  late  March  or 
early  April  in  1847  as  the  best  time  for  their  depar- 
ture to  the  New  World.41  The  first  to  disembark  up- 
on American  shores  in  the  spring  of  the  year  1847 
were  Scholte  and  his  family,  who  had  left  Rotterdam 
and  traveled  by  way  of  London  and  Liverpool  to  Bos- 
ton, arriving  on  the  steamboat  "Sarah  Sand"  early 
in  the  month  of  May  after  a  journey  of  thirteen 
days.42 

When  the  time  came  for  the  great  body  of  mem- 
bers of  the  Utrecht  association  to  take  final  leave  of 
relatives,  friends,  and  the  fatherland  and  set  out  for 
a  country  of  which  they  knew  comparatively  nothing, 
four  three-masters  were  chartered  to  convey  them  to 
America.  The  ' '  Nagasaki ' '  left  Rotterdam  on  April 
the  11th  with  over  two  hundred  persons  on  board; 
and  at  about  the  same  time  the  ships  "Maasstroom" 
and  "Catharina  Jackson"  set  sail  with  about  one 
hundred  and  ninety-seven  and  one  hundred  and  sixty- 
nine  passengers  respectively;  while  the  "Pieter 
Floris"  departed  from  Amsterdam  with  men,  wo- 
men, and  children  numbering  about  two  hundred  and 
twenty-two.  In  all  there  were  approximately  one 
hundred  and  sixty  families,  and  these  together  with 
many  unmarried  persons  comprised  a  total  of  over 
eight  hundred  individuals.43  Their  leaders  were  A. 
Wigny,  Rev.  A.  J.  Betten,  G.  H.  Overkamp,  Isaac 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  AMERICA  47 


Overkamp,  J.  F.  Le  Cocq,  H.  Y.  Viersen,  J.  Rietveld, 
and  J.  Smeenk,  two  of  whom  were  assigned  to  each 
ship  to  exercise  general  supervision  and  to  take 
turns  in  conducting  daily  religious  services  on  ship- 
board. 

Seven  or  eight  weeks  were  consumed  in  making 
the  ocean  voyage  to  America.  Despite  terrible 
storms  and  such  discomforts  as  awaiting  one's  turn 
to  cook  meals  on  the  ship's  stove,  general  peace  and 
satisfaction  reigned  in  the  community  life  on  board 
the  sailing-vessels.  Though  the  time  passed  without 
serious  mishap,  two  adults  and  eighteen  children 
found  graves  in  the  Atlantic.  Several  children  were 
born.  The  emigrants  looked  forward  patiently  and 
hopefully  to  better  things  to  come  in  the  New  World, 
and  during  these  weeks  upon  the  water  they  were 
enabled  to  become  better  acquainted  with  one  an- 
other :  their  interests  became  more  closely  identified 
and  their  aims  became  more  clearly  defined.  The 
four  little  ships  finally  cast  anchor  in  the  harbor  of 
Baltimore,  Maryland  —  the  first  late  in  May  and  the 
last  early  in  June.  Much  happiness  prevailed  when 
the  Hollanders  beheld  American  shores,  for  it  meant 
the  end  of  a  tedious  ocean  trip. 

Thus  the  first  large  organized  body  of  emigrants 
who  forsook  the  intolerable  conditions  of  The  Neth- 
erlands willingly  submitted  to  inconvenience  and  suf- 
fering in  order  to  find  a  better  life  in  America ;  but 
they  were  to  experience  still  greater  discomforts  and 
griefs  before  finally  establishing  themselves  upon  the 
prairies  of  Iowa.44 


VI 

FROM  BALTIMORE  TO  ST.  LOUIS  IN  1847 

As  peesident  of  the  Utrecht  emigrant  association 
Scholte  preceded  his  flock  to  America,  landing  at 
Boston  two  or  three  weeks  before  the  little  fleet  of 
sailing-vessels  entered  the  harbor  of  Baltimore.  He 
visited  Albany,  New  York  City,  and  AYashington  in 
search  of  all  kinds  of  information  that  might  be  use- 
ful and  necessary  in  determining  where  the  proposed 
colony  of  Hollanders  should  be  established,  and  of  his 
experiences  in  eastern  States  he  later  wrote  a  de- 
tailed account.45 

It  was  a  part  of  Scholte 's  work  to  investigate  the 
best  means  of  inland  transportation  for  the  Hol- 
landers who  were  coming.  He  was  thus  enabled  to 
come  into  touch  with  a  class  of  persons  all  too  com- 
mon at  that  period  in  the  history  of  immigration  to 
the  United  States.  These  "kidnappers  and  deceiv- 
ers ' ',  like  bands  of  hungry  wolves,  stormed  each  in- 
coming ship  of  European  emigrants.  In  their  schem- 
ing attempts  to  gain  the  foreigner's  confidence,  they 
manifested  the  utmost  concern  in  his  welfare,  warned 
him  of  the  danger  of  falling  into  the  snares  of  liars, 
and  offered  to  conduct  him  to  a  good  lodging  place 
and  to  explain  the  best  and  cheapest  mode  of  travel 
in  America. 

48 


FROM  BALTIMORE  TO  ST.  LOUIS  IN  1847      49 

Every  transportation  office  at  American  ports 
was  said  to  have  such  men  in  its  service.  As  a 
means  of  exploiting  the  purses  of  foreigners  the  sys- 
tem proved  to  be  so  insidious  that  Scholte  could  not 
confidently  recommend  a  reliable  office.  He  later 
urged  emigrating  Europeans  to  be  prepared  to  speak 
English,  and  above  all,  to  familiarize  themselves  with 
North  American  conditions  before  leaving  their 
homes,  so  that  they  might  personally  study  and  in- 
vestigate steamboat  and  railway  connections  in 
America. 

Scholte  naively  observed  that  these  "ronselaars" 
at  American  ports  had  become  "so  accustomed  to 
see  incoming  ships  filled  with  half-starved  Irishmen 
or  ill-smelling  Germans  that  the  rumor  of  the  coming 
of  so  many  Hollanders,  with  money  in  their  pockets 
and  clean  looks  besides,  goaded  their  zeal  anew  to 
give  chase  after  what  people  here  have  already  quite 
generally  learned  to  call  'willempjes'."  Among  the 
men  whose  appetite  for  these  ten-florin  gold  pieces 
or  ' '  little  Williams ' '  had  suddenly  been  whetted  were 
many  Hollanders  who  were  acquainted  with  the  per- 
sonal history  and  circumstances  of  some  of  their  on- 
coming countrymen  or  were  informed  by  allies  equal- 
ly concerned  in  Holland.  Scholte  wrote  from  Iowa 
that  one  could  form  no  adequate  conception  of  this 
branch  of  industry  in  American  harbors:  "a  man 
should  almost  be  able  to  read  their  hearts  if  he  wishes 
to  be  secure  from  paying  toll  in  one  form  or  another 
to  this  host  of  unofficial  officers." 

Aroused  bv  what  he  had  learned  of  the  American 


50  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

commercial  world  in  the  ports,  and  especially  at  New 
York  City,  Scholte  recognized  the  necessity  of  meet- 
ing the  vessels  which  bore  his  followers ;  and  when  he 
received  the  glad  tidings  that  one  ship  had  reached 
its  destination  and  later  that  the  others  were  in 
sight,  he  hastened  by  rail  to  Baltimore  where  he 
"could  rejoice  in  the  safe  arrival  of  those  with  whom 
I  should  henceforth  live  in  common."  4G 

Baltimore,  then  described  as  a  large  city  with 
hundreds  of  ships  anchored  or  moored  in  its  harbor, 
and  chickens,  hogs,  and  cattle  running  loose  upon  its 
muddy  streets,  shocked  the  Hollanders  who  were  ac- 
customed to  seeing  orderly,  well-kept  highways  in 
city  and  town  and  gravel  roads  throughout  the 
country.  Wearied  by  weeks  of  monotonous  sailing, 
they  expected  to  see  a  picture  more  attractive  than 
that  which  presented  itself  at  their  introduction  to 
"the  land  of  promise".  The  journey  overland  they 
hoped  would  be  more  pleasant  and  more  varied;  but 
their  first  impressions  were  frankly  disappointing. 
The  sight  of  a  bustling  sea-port  with  ill-kept  streets 
and  make-shift  buildings  unpleasantly  checked  any 
rising  enthusiasm. 

Americans  had  not  in  a  long  time  seen  foreigners 
who  appeared  so  neat  and  brought  so  much  property 
with  them.  Various  newspapers  reported  the  ar- 
rival of  the  Dutch  emigrants;  and  some  accounts 
"were  so  exaggerated  that  one  would  almost  believe 
the  treasures  of  Peru  had  been  transported  to  the 
New  World  in  the  boxes  and  baskets  and  packs  of 
these  people  from  Holland,  which  gained  strength  in 


FROM  BALTIMORE  TO  ST.  LOUIS  IN  1847      51 


many  places  because  the  Hollanders  usually  had  to 
exchange  their  gold  money  in  order  to  pay  f°r 
things."  The  latter  circumstance  was  also  instru- 
mental many  times  in  persuading  Americans  "to 
charge  us  more  than  they  were  accustomed  to  take 
from  Irish  or  Germans."  47 

Early  in  June,  1847,  the  Hollanders  commenced 
their  journey  from  Baltimore  into  the  American  in- 
terior, finishing  the  first  stage  by  rail  as  far  as  Co- 
lumbia, Pennsylvania,  a  town  which  lay  at  the  junc- 
tion of  two  railroads  and  a  canal.  Indeed,  people 
traveled  from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburgh  by  what 
was  then  called  the  Pennsylvania  Canal  and  Port- 
age Railway  —  for  the  construction  of  the  Pennsyl- 
vania Railroad  from  Harrisburg  was  not  begun  until 
1847  nor  completed  until  1854. 

At  Columbia  the  immigrants  were  packed  "like 
herrings"  into  canal-boats  and  conveyed  nearly  two 
hundred  miles  up  the  beautiful  valleys  of  the  Sus- 
quehanna and  Juniata  rivers  with  their  great  wooded 
ridges  and  picturesque  scenery  to  Hollidaysburg  at 
the  foot  of  the  Alleghany  Mountains.  From  there 
they  had  the  unique  experience  of  being  "portaged" 
up  the  mountain  slope:  they  were  placed  in  cars, 
drawn  up  a  series  of  inclined  planes  by  stationary 
locomotives,  and  passing  through  a  tunnel  near  the 
mountain-top,  they  were  let  down  inclined  planes  on 
the  western  slope  to  Johnstown,  a  distance  of  nearly 
forty  miles.  Thence  they  continued  by  canal  down 
the  Conemaugh  Valley  for  over  one  hundred  miles  to 
Pittsburgh.48 


52  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

Having  arrived  at  Pittsburgh  from  beyond  the 
Alleghanies,  the  Hollanders  continued  westward  by  a 
route  equally  historic,  the  Ohio  Eiver,  which  in  those 
days  was  the  principal  means  of  communication  be- 
tween the  East  and  the  Mississippi  Valley.  Steam- 
boat traffic  on  this  river  was  then  just  at  the  begin- 
ning of  its  greatest  prosperity.  Through  this  so- 
called  ''Gateway  to  the  West"  the  Hollanders 
reached  the  Mississippi  River,  which  they  ascended 
as  far  as  St.  Louis,  having  covered  one  thousand 
miles  by  steamboat. 

Three  weeks  were  consumed  in  this  journey  over- 
land to  St.  Louis.  Although  the  newcomers  saw 
much  wonderful  scenery  and  marveled  at  young 
America's  gigantic  strides,  they  found  American 
methods  of  travel  very  unpleasant  and  fatiguing. 
Mothers  of  large  families  of  young  children  were 
driven  almost  frantic.  Indeed,  the  hearts  of  all  the 
immigrants  were  constantly  filled  with  anxiety. 
Nearly  three  months  of  ceaseless  motion  on  the  jour- 
ney from  their  homes  in  Holland  to  the  American  in- 
terior had  severely  tried  their  patience,  and  enough 
had  happened  "to  extinguish  their  last  spark  of 
poetry. ' ' 49 

The  immigrants  were  thankful  to  stop  for  a 
breathing  spell  at  St.  Louis,  for  they  deemed  it  best 
to  wait  until  a  site  should  be  found  for  their  colony. 
All  received  a  glad  welcome  from  the  small  band  of 
countrymen  who  had  already  passed  several  months 
in  St.  Louis.  For  so  many  people  not  enough  dwell- 
ings were  to  be  found  at  once ;  accordingly,  wooden 


FROM  BALTIMORE  TO  ST.  LOUIS  IN  1847       53 

sheds  were  hastily  constructed  to  accommodate  them. 
Then  early  in  July,  1847,  in  a  ''booming"  frontier 
city  of  thirty  thousand  people,  they  set  about  to  look 
for  work,  "wherein  some  who  like  to  work  were  very 
successful,  while  others  who  had  formed  a  picture  of 
America  like  children  have  of  Gocagne  were  less  for- 
tunate in  finding  what  they  did  not  seriously  seek." 
Of  the  eight  hundred  emigrants  who  left  Holland 
twenty  lost  their  lives  upon  the  Atlantic,  and  four  are 
said  to  have  died  on  the  journey  from  Baltimore. 
"At  St.  Louis,  however,  the  number  of  deaths  was 
larger.  The  unusual  experiences  of  the  trip,  the 
cramped  quarters  at  St.  Louis,  the  extraordinary  heat 
in  that  rapidly  growing  city,  the  irregular  and  care- 
less consumption  of  food  and  drink,  and  the  disre- 
gard by  some  of  Dutch  cleanliness  caused  illness  and 
consequent  death."  50 


VII 

THE  RECEPTION  OF  SCHOLTE  AND  THE 
DUTCH  IN  AMERICA 

At  Boston  Scholte  remained  just  long  enough  to  give 
his  family  a  few  days  of  rest  after  the  ocean  journey. 
Here  he  soon  perceived  that  Americans  were  not 
only  frank  in  their  friendliness  but  also  genuinely 
concerned  about  the  emigration  from  Holland.  At 
the  same  time  he  records  that  he  failed  to  find  a 
community  of  spiritual  belief  in  "that  capital  of 
American  rationalism. ' ' 

Scholte  next  went  to  Albany  where  he  was  openly 
welcomed  by  the  good  Christian  people  of  the  city 
and  given  an  opportunity  to  preach  the  gospel  to  the 
Hollanders  who  had  but  recently  arrived  from  Eu- 
rope and  to  the  older  inhabitants  who  either  could 
still  speak  Dutch  or  merely  recalled  that  it  was  the 
language  of  the  founders  of  their  city  and  State.  To 
Scholte  it  was  a  striking  experience  to  be  asked  im- 
mediately to  preach  God's  Word  in  one  of  the  prin- 
cipal churches  in  a  laud  where  he  was  a  stranger, 
"while",  as  he  writes,  "in  the  land  of  my  birth  most 
public  places  for  the  worship  of  God  were  closed  to 
me,  and  even  those  who  in  their  homes  called  me 
brother  in  Christ  would  not  have  dared  to  allow  me  to 
take  charge  of  services  in  their  churches ' '.  Such  was 
the  kindness  which   he   received   at  the   hands   of 

54 


RECEPTION  OP  THE  DUTCH  IN  AMERICA      55 

ministers  in  and  near  New  York  City  and  at  Pitts- 
burgh that  when  he  wrote  about  it  later,  he  con- 
fessed: ''Had  I  not  been  bound  to  our  Association, 
I  certainly  could  not  have  withstood  the  pressure  of 
persons  who  urged  me  to  stay  in  the  State  of  New 
York  and  once  more  to  hold  regular  services  in  the 
Dutch  language." 

Everywhere  among  the  Christian  people  of  Amer- 
ica it  appears  that  Scholte  discovered  a  hearty  and 
wide-awake  interest  in  the  emigration  from  Holland. 
"I  believe",  he  wrote,  "that  in  general  they  cherish 
a  too  lofty  opinion  of  us.  In  their  conversation  and 
newspapers  we  are  represented  as  resembling  the 
God-fearing  Pilgrims  who  first  settled  in  the  United 
States.  They  regard  our  coming  to  this  land  of  civil 
and  religious  liberty  as  one  of  God's  blessings  on 
their  country.  .  .  .  Oftentimes  a  sense  of  shame 
and  embarrassment  comes  over  me  when  I  stop  to 
look  at  myself  and  our  Association,  and  then  con- 
sider the  high  thoughts  which  people  entertain  of  us, 
and  see  that,  while  the  Germans  who  come  here  are 
less  highly  esteemed,  the  Hollanders  are  held  in  hon- 
or and  are  often  placed  on  an  equality  with  Ameri- 
cans." 

And  Scholte  could  testify  that  the  Hollanders  re- 
ceived favorable  treatment  at  the  hands  not  only  of 
individual  Christians  and  Christian  churches,  but 
also  of  State  officials  and  State  assemblies.  For,  he 
said,  "I  myself  had  an  experience  of  this  sort  at  Al- 
bany, where  the  legislature  had  just  convened  and  I 
wished  to  look  on  for  a  moment.  Recognized  by  one 
of  the  members,  I  was  compelled  to  take  a  seat  in  the 


56  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

midst  of  them.  How  different  from  Holland!  In 
the  land  of  our  birth  branded  and  treated  as  a  de- 
spised congregation,  misunderstood  by  everyone, 
shoved  aside,  trampled  upon  and  bruised ;  in  the  land 
of  strangers  and  above  all  in  its  most  respectable 
part,  honored  and  treated  as  a  costly  gift  of  God  to 
improve  their  country ! ' ' 

At  St.  Louis  where  the  Americans  did  not  under- 
stand the  Dutch  language  and  had  scarcely  thought 
of  Hollanders  before,  the  immigrants  were  just  as 
cordially  welcomed  as  in  the  East;  and  so  long  as 
they  remained  in  the  city,  a  Presbyterian  congrega- 
tion allowed  them  the  free  use  of  a  spacious  base- 
ment room  for  regular  Sunday  services,  providing 
heat  when  necessary,  and  even  helping  the  needy 
sick.  The  Hollanders  were  also  permitted  to  take  ad- 
vantage of  the  instruction  in  English  afforded  by  the 
Presbyterian  Sunday-school. 

Of  their  reception  in  America  one  of  the  Hol- 
landers afterwards  wrote:  "With  none  too  much 
praise  can  one  speak  of  the  good-will,  accommoda- 
tion, and  direct  aid  with  which  the  Dutch  emigrants 
met  at  places  where  they  stopped,  not  least  at  St. 
Louis."  As  for  their  willingness  to  help  and  kind- 
ness to  oblige,  Americans  were  said  to  put  the  Hol- 
landers to  shame,  and  Scholte  could  say  in  conclu- 
sion: "In  this  way  America  speaks  and  thinks,  in 
this  way  America  treats  the  Hollanders  who  were 
so  oppressed  in  their  native  land  in  matters  civil  and 
religious  that  they  were  forced  to  leave.  That  God 
has  done  for  us".51 


VIII 

THE  CHOICE  OF  A  HOME  IN  IOWA 

Befqbe  the  departure  of  Scliolte  and  his  association 
from  Holland  another  leader  of  the  Seceders,  van 
Eaalte,  had  established  a  Dutch  settlement  in  the 
State  of  Michigan.  Van  Eaalte  wrote  to  his  former 
fellow-countrymen  in  Europe  that  he  preferred  Mich- 
igan to  Iowa  or  Wisconsin  because  his  colony  lay  near 
the  large  cities  of  Milwaukee,  Racine,  and  Chicago, 
and  the  Illinois  Canal.  It  was  therefore  conveniently 
situated  for  eastern  and  southern  markets ;  besides, 
railroads  were  spreading  throughout  the  State,  and 
the  large  areas  of  government  forest  land,  though 
very  cheap,  were  very  valuable.  Van  Eaalte  further 
asserted  that  the  climate  farther  south  was  very  un- 
healthful,  and  that  upon  the  unanimous  recommenda- 
tion of  trustworthy  men  he  had  been  obliged  to  look 
away  from  Iowa  to  Michigan  as  his  choice.  As  his 
reasons  for  selecting  timber  lands  he  urged  that  they 
were  more  healthful  than  fresh-plowed  prairie,  and 
demanded  from  people  of  small  means  smaller  ex- 
penditures of  money  at  the  beginning,  since  they 
yielded  lumber  for  houses  and  barns,  abundance  of 
work  for  many  classes  of  artisans,  good  crops  from 
the  clearings,  and  rich  grass  for  dairy  farming.88 
Van  Eaalte   expressed   a  hope  that   his  friend 

57 


58  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 


Scholte  would  also  conduct  his  association  to  Michi- 
gan rather  than  to  Iowa,  where  he  felt  convinced  the 
Hollanders  could  not  do  so  well.  Indeed,  when 
Scholte  was  at  New  York  he  received  information 
from  the  little  band  of  Hollanders  at  St.  Louis  that 
van  Eaalte  had  invited  them  to  come  to  Michigan, 
but  that  after  some  correspondence  and  the  inspec- 
tion of  other  lands  they  had  decided  not  to  accept  his 
invitation.  Teunis  Keppel,  one  of  their  number  who 
had  been  appointed  in  Holland  as  a  member  of  the 
committee  to  investigate  various  localities  in  the 
American  interior,  had  made  a  trip  to  Michigan  in 
order  to  make  a  personal  examination  and  prepare  a 
faithful  report  on  conditions  there.53 

During  the  short  time  which  he  spent  in  cities  of 
the  East,  before  he  joined  his  association  at  Balti- 
more, Scholte  did  not  forget  the  colony  founded  by 
his  colleague  in  the  woods  of  Michigan.  Indeed,  he 
was  forcibly  reminded  of  it  when  collections  of  money 
were  taken  up  in  the  churches  of  New  York  to  enable 
the  Michigan  Hollanders  to  build  a  saw-mill.  Not 
only  did  FlgstflT-nprs  not  recommend  to  him  the  Dutch 
settlement  of  Michigan,  but  a  friend  who  had  jour- 
neyed  from  "Wisconsin  to  see  Michigan  with  his  own 
eyes  wrote  to  Scholte  at  Albany,  alleging  that  he  had 
hAPn^srP^nfflvorahly  imprp^spd  that,  he  returned  at 
once  to  Wisconsin.54 

Scholte  turned  his  attention  away  from  the  Michi- 
gan colony  as  a  desirable  region  because  it  lay  too 
far  north,  because  it  was  destitute  of  suitable  roads 
and  sufficient  arable  land  on  account  of  the  dense 


THE  CHOICE  OF  A  HOME  IN  IOWA  59 

growth  of  timber,  and  lastly  because  it  lay  too  near 
the  Indians  and  was  too  far  removed  from  other  set- 
tlements of  whites.  He  expressed  his  conviction  that 
the  farmers  who  had  spent  their  lives  in  the  level  hay- 
lands  and  grain-fields  of  Holland  could  not  accustom 
themselves  to  the  unusual  battle  with  forests  nor  find 
pleasure  in  the  constant  presence  of  tree  stumps  in 
their  meadows  and  cultivated  fields.  As  early  as 
May,  1847,  Scholte  had  convinced  himself  that  Iowa 
or  a  part  of  Illinois  would  be  most  suitable,  but  he 
judged  "that  a  good  locality  is  recommended  by  tell- 
ing not  what  people  may  do  there  but  what  they  have 
done  and  are  doing".55 

In  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  his  colleague's 
site  for  a  colony  was  ill-advised,  Scholte  assured  the 
people  that  he  did  not  wish  to  detract  from  the  re- 
ports concerning  the  fertility  of  the  soil  in  Michigan, 
nor  from  the  value  of  the  timber  land,  nor  "from  the 
pleasure  of  hearing  the  warble  of  birds  in  the  cool 
shade  of  virgin  forests";  but  he  had  experienced 
enough  of  real  life  to  know  that  stumps  of  trees  were 
disagreeable  obstacles  to  farmers.  Besides,  he  felt 
certain  "that  the  Hollanders  who  were  coining  to 
North  America  were  more  prosaic  than  poetic  and 
consequently  thought  not  so  much  of  pleasing  their 
eyes  and  ears  as  of  buying  suitable  land  for  farms, 
the  easier  to  cultivate,  the  better."  He  knew  per- 
fectly well  that  the  farmers  who  made  up  the  major- 
ity of  his  association  were  eager  to  own  pastures  for 
dairy  purposes,  to  use  plow  and  harrow  on  the  soil, 
and  not  at  all  inclined  "to  prefer  ax  to  spade  or  to 


60  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

become  dealers  in  wood."  And  in  answer  to  van 
Raalte's  favorable  report  on  the  healthfulness  of 
Michigan,  Scholte  averred  that  while  he  was  read- 
ing some  newspaper  testimonials  at  New  York  adver- 
tising a  certain  kind  of  pills  he  came  across  a  letter 
from  the  Michigan  colony  praising  the  pills  and  or- 
dering more,  and  he  thereby  became  i '  convinced  that 
people  there  as  everywhere  else  in  the  world  had  to 
wrestle  with  indisposition  and  disease !"  56 

The  rumor  of  the  coming  of  so  many  well-to-do 
Hollanders  preceded  Scholte,  and  no  sooner  had  he 
reached  America  than  he  was  stormed  from  all  sides 
with  offers  of  land  so  alluring  that  he  was  not  sur- 
prised, he  said,  if  unsuspecting  foreigners  fell  into 
the  snares  prepared  by  speculators.  But  Scholte 
was  not  to  be  tricked  into  jeopardizing  the  future 
peace  and  happiness  of  his  followers.  Consequently 
he  went  to  the  trouble  of  investigating  as  carefully 
as  possible  all  the  opportunities  offered  by  various 
States.  By  means  of  letters  of  recommendation 
given  him  by  the  American  consul  in  Holland  and 
with  the  help  of  influential  friends  he  was  enabled  to 
get  abundant  and  reliable  information.  At  Washing- 
ton the  government  officials  surprised  him  by  their 
civility  and  general  willingness  to  serve:  they  not 
only  answered  his  questions,  but  "all  free  of  cost" 
presented  him  with  printed  documents  and  later  sent 
him  a  set  of  maps  showing  the  location  of  saleable 
government  lands. 

Scholte  declared  that  while  he  was  gathering  in- 
formation in  the  older  States  he  frequently  heard  the 


THE  CHOICE  OP  A  HOME  IN  IOWA  61 

remark  that  it  would  be  extremely  difficult  to  find 
unoccupied  lands  for  his  people  unless  they  were 
willing  to  be  cut  off  from  intercourse  with  all  human 
beings  except  the  Indians.  He  judged  that  the  at- 
tention which  they  had  directed  toward  the  western 
States  as  a  result  of  previous  investigations  con- 
ducted in  Holland  was  excellent  evidence  of  God's 
guidance.57 

Not  until  the  whole  association  had  reached  St. 
Louis  was  the  last  step  taken  to  decide  where  the 
Hollanders  should  build  their  homes :  a  committee  of 
investigation,  consisting  of  Scholte,  Isaac  Overkamp, 
John  Rietveld,  Teunis  Keppel,  and  Gerrit  van  der 
Pol,  set  out  from  St.  Louis  to  select  a  suitable  site 
for  the  settlement.  There  were  extensive  areas  still 
open  to  occupation  in  the  States  of  Iowa  and  Illi- 
nois, but  they  were  so  far  removed  from  wood  and 
water  as  to  be  quite  ill  adapted  to  foreigners  unac- 
customed to  American  pioneer  ways.  The  committee 
of  "spies",  however,  resolved  to  examine  the  Iowa 
lands  first,  and  in  case  good  lands  were  not  available 
there  to  visit  northern  Illinois.58 

The  nearest  saleable  lands  in  southeastern  Iowa 
lay  in  what  was  called  "The  Half-Breed  Tract",  es- 
tablished in  1824  by  the  United  States  government  in 
Lee  County  for  the  half-breeds  of  the  Sac  and  Fox 
Indians  and  later  sold  by  them  to  other  persons. 
Scholte  had  already  conferred  with  the  leading  men 
of  a  New  York  land  company  which  owned  a  large 
portion  of  this  tract,  with  the  result  that  he  had  be- 
come suspicious  of  their  title.     Accordingly,  after 


62  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

making  a  close  examination  of  the  state  of  land  titles, 
the  committee  was  convinced  that  most  of  the  pos- 
sessors were  not  owners  and  that  a  purchase  from 
them  would  only  expose  the  Hollanders  to  the  un- 
pleasantness of  law-suits.59 

The  committee  thereupon  resorted  to  the  United 
States  Land  Office  at  Fairfield,  Iowa,  where  unsold 
government  lands  could  still  be  bought  or  ' '  preempt- 
ed" at  $1.25  per  acre.  Scholte  presented  a  letter  of 
introduction  to  Ver  Planck  van  Antwerp,  a  Knicker- 
bocker who  happened  to  be  the  government  Eeceiver 
at  the  Fairfield  office.  Mr.  van  Antwerp  showed  the 
committee  of  Hollanders  maps  of  Iowa  indicating 
unsold  lands.  He  also  informed  them  that  the  best 
areas  had  already  been  occupied  and  that,  although 
many  of  the  first  settlers  had  not  yet  paid  the  gov- 
ernment, they  were  nevertheless  protected  in  their 
rights  because  they  had  worked  to  bring  their  claims 
under  cultivation.60 

Scholte  once  more  exhibited  his  qualities  of  lead- 
ership when  he  persuaded  the  members  of  the  com- 
mittee that  instead  of  buying  the  land  of  settlers  who 
had  r-Wr  titles,  and  who  would,  therefore,  be  loath  to 
sell  their  farms  except  at  very  high  prices,  the  Hol- 
landers  should  buy  out  the  pioneers  who  had  not  yet 
secured  clear  titles  totheir  claims.  .As  Scholte  had 
once  before  expressed  it,  "a  good  locality  is  recom- 
mended by  telling  not  what  people  may  do  there,  but 
what  they  have  done  and  are  doing". 

While  the  other  committeemen  went  to  inspect 
the  countrv  around  Fairfield  and  gain  all  possible 


THE  CHOICE  OF  A  HOME  IN  IOWA  63 


information  from  the  inhabitants,  Scholte  busied 
himself  with  maps  in  the  Land  Office.  Incidentally 
he  applied  to  Mr.  van  Antwerp  to  recommend  a 
guide  —  some  man  who  had  dealt  with  American  pio- 
neers in  the  neighborhood  and  was  therefore  ac- 
quainted with  them.  Shortly  afterward,  while  at- 
tending a  child's  funeral,  Scholte  met  a  Presbyterian 
minister,  through  whom  he  came  to  know  a  Baptist 
who  had  been  engaged  for  nearly  six  years  as  a  mis- 
sionary preacher  or  circuit  rider  among  the  pioneers 
of  southwestern  Iowa.  This  man  was  Rev.  M.  J. 
Post. 

When  he  learned  who  Scholte  was  and  what  he 
wanted,  Mr.  Post  at  once  recommended  two  localities 
in  Iowa  as  suitable  for  the  proposed  Dutch  colony, 
and  consented  to  act  as  a  guide  for  the  committee. 
On  July  29,  1847,  before  any  rumor  of  their  plan 
could  precede  them,  the  committee  and  guide  drove 
across  country  from  Fairfield  a  distance  of  nearly 
seventy  miles  to  the  northeastern  corner  of  Marion 
County.  Scholte  later  gave  the  following  report  of 
the  committee's  operations : 

We  began  straightway  [on  Thursday]  with  the  man  at 
whose  house  we  had  dinner  at  noon,  and  with  him  agreed 
upon  the  price  of  his  farm,  reserving  the  right  to  give  him 
a  definite  answer  not  later  than  one  o'clock  Saturday,  be- 
cause we  wanted  to  be  assured  of  the  other  farms  first.  He 
gave  us  a  short  list  of  the  various  settlers,  and  by  constant 
riding  before  darkness  set  in  we  had  every  farmer's  promise 
to  sell  at  a  stipulated  price.  Some  whom  we  did  not  well 
trust  were  bound  by  cash  payments  in  the  presence  of  wit- 


64  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 


nesses.  Our  work,  however,  was  now  but  half  done,  for 
we  had  to  have  access  to  the  Des  Moines  River  also.  Early 
Friday  morning  we  rode  thither;  there  too  the  settlers  sus- 
pected nothing,  and  after  coming  to  terms  with  each  one 
separately  by  evening  we  had  bound  them  all  till  Monday. 
Saturday  we  appeared  at  the  appointed  time  and  place, 
when  written  contracts  to  be  executed  within  one  month's 
time  were  signed  by  them  as  sellers  and  by  me  as  pur- 
chaser.    .     .     . 

On  Sunday  I  heard  two  excellent  sermons  by  our  guide 
and  agent;  on  Monday  we  signed  contracts  with  settlers 
near  the  river ;  and  on  Tuesday  we  commenced  our  journey 
back  to  St.  Louis,  to  convey  to  the  members  of  our  Associa- 
tion the  glad  tidings  that  we  had  found  a  good  place  for 
our  homes,  and  to  make  preparations  for  the  departure  of 
a  first  column.61 


IX 

THE  ARRIVAL  OF  THE  HOLLANDERS  IN 
IOWA 

On  July  4, 1846,  an  Iowa  author  of  note  gave  expres- 
sion to  the  following  thought :  "Here  we  behold  the 
emigrant  crossing  the  majestic  river  with  the  bible, 
the  axe,  and  the  plough  —  emblems  of  peace,  pros- 
perity and  power.  You  may  point  me  to  Caesar,  to 
the  armies  of  Alexander  and  Napoleon,  triumphant 
with  the  laurels  of  victory;  yet  history  never  pre- 
sented a  spectacle  half  so  sublime  as  the  long  train 
of  moving  emigrants,  going  forth  to  consecrate  the 
pathless  prairie  to  freedom  and  a  lofty  civiliza- 
tion."62 The  man  who  penned  these  words  was 
thinking  only  of  the  trains  of  covered  wagons  which 
bore  emigrants  from  Ohio,  Indiana,  and  the  States 
farther  east.  He  made  no  reference  to  the  fact  that 
at  that  very  time  Europeans  were  crossing  the  ocean 
to  try  their  fortunes  in  the  western  country. 

No  sooner  had  the  five  committeemen  reported 
their  work  to  the  expectant  Hollanders  at  St.  Louis 
than  amid  general  rejoicing  they  prepared  to  journey 
northward.  All  were  eager  to  reach  the  end  of  their 
tedious  travels  —  all  were  ready  to  establish  perma- 
nent homes  upon  American  soil  in  a  neighborhood 
which  they  could  henceforth  call  their  own.     But 

65 


66  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

impatience  did  not  overwhelm  their  discretion.  In- 
asmuch as  nearly  nine  hundred  persons  would  find  it 
very  difficult  to  subsist  in  an  almost  wholly  unpeopled 
country  and  since  very  many  of  them  were  engaged 
in  profitable  labor  at  St.  Louis,  it  was  deemed  most 
advisable  that  only  the  larger  part  of  the  emigrant 
band  should  go  ahead  and  prepare  for  the  coming  of 
those  who  were  left  behind. 

Some  five  or  six  hundred  of  the  entire  body  of 
Hollanders,  therefore,  bade  good-bye  to  their  coun- 
trymen and  to  the  Americans  who  had  helped  them 
during  their  enforced  sojourn  in  St.  Louis.  They 
took  passage  on  a  Mississippi  River  steamboat  and 
within  two  days  reached  Keokuk,  the  ' '  Gate  City  of 
Iowa".  Here  they  were  met  by  a  large  concourse  of 
curious  persons  —  some  attracted  by  the  rumor  of 
the  coming  of  so  many  foreigners  and  others  actuated 
by  a  keen  desire  to  supply  possible  needs  at  extor- 
tionate prices.  Here  also  the  Hollanders  performed 
the  sad  duty  of  burying  the  bodies  of  three  of  their 
number  who  had  died  since  leaving  St.  Louis. 

Shortly  after  their  arrival  at  Keokuk  the  immi- 
grants were  greeted  with  a  deluge  of  rain  which  very 
perceptibly  dampened  their  ardor  and  delayed  their 
preparations;  but  after  a  number  of  the  party  had 
purchased  horses  and  wagons  and  other  things  neces- 
sary for  the  journey,  bag  and  baggage  were  loaded 
upon  the  great  rumbling  wagons  of  that  pioneer  day, 
and  then  commenced  the  final  lap  of  a  long  and 
wearisome  journey  half-way  across  the  continent. 


ARRIVAL  OF  THE  HOLLANDERS  IN  IOWA     67 

Some  of  the  little  army  of  invasion  rode,  while 
others  were  obliged  to  be  content  with  walking.03 

As  they  journeyed  from  the  highly  romantic  po- 
sition of  Keokuk  at  the  foot  of  the  rapids  of  the 
Mississippi  River  up  one  of  the  richest  valleys  of  the 
West  and  along  the  ridge  road  on  the  divide  between 
two  heavily  timbered  rivers,  the  Hollanders  beheld  a 
beautiful  stretch  of  green  country,  the  haunt  of  In- 
dians but  fifteen  years  before  and  a  part  of  which 
had  been  occupied  by  settlers  for  only  three  or  four 
years. 

As  these  emigrants  from  Holland  traversed  Ma- 
haska County  just  before  reaching  the  site  of  their 
future  colony,  they  were  observed  with  interest  by  a 
pioneer  woman  who  has  preserved  the  following  pic- 
ture of  them: 

And  when  they  came  along  the  road  with  various  kinds 
of  teams,  we  gazed  in  wonder  at  their  quaint  and  unfamiliar 
appearance.  Their  dress  was  strange  to  us.  Women  were 
perched  on  high  piles  of  queer  looking  chests  and  boxes  and 
trunks,  many  of  them  wearing  caps,  but  no  bonnets.  Some 
of  the  men,  and  women  too,  wore  wooden  shoes.64 

At  last  they  halted  upon  the  site  selected  by  the 
committee,  being  followed  a  little  later  by  the  wagon 
train  of  baggage.  This  was  late  in  the  month  of 
August,  1847.  Great  must  have  been  their  disap- 
pointment to  find  that  only  a  pile  of  boards  and  two 
poor  log-houses  marked  the  spot  where  they  were 
now  to  settle.  The  contract  which  Scholte  had  pre- 
viously made  with  certain  Americans  for  the  con- 
struction of  fiftv  loe:  cabins  and  for  the  deliverv  of  a 


68  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

certain  amount  of  lumber  before  the  association  ar- 
rived from  St.  Louis  had  not  been  carried  out  at  all. 

To  a  people  fresh  from  the  older  civilization  of 
Europe,  the  entire  absence  of  satisfactory  accommo- 
dations and  conveniences  must  have  been  especially 
disheartening.  To  be  sure  many  of  them  had  been 
accustomed  to  rural  life  in  Holland,  but  that  life 
represented  a  continuity  of  development  since  the 
early  years  of  the  Christian  era.  They  had  left  a 
soil  which  had  been  subjected  to  cultivation  for  near- 
ly two  thousand  years,  and  they  had  lived  in  houses 
which  though  small  were  at  least  comfortable.  Now 
they  were  to  learn  what  it  was  to  grow  up  with  a  new 
country  —  what  it  meant  to  conquer  a  wilderness. 

"  Imagine  a  number  of  bakers,  tailors  and  shoe- 
makers, painters,  office-clerks,  business  managers 
and  such  like,  who  had  all  their  lives  been  used  to  the 
city  life  of  Europe  —  some  of  whom  hardly  knew 
what  a  cow  or  pig  looked  like,  nor  had  the  slightest 
knowledge  of  farm  implements;  who  had  left  neat 
and  comfortable  homes  and  had  never  known  or  seen 
others  —  imagine  such  people  suddenly  transplanted 
to  an  open  prairie,  with  here  and  there  some  timber, 
seeing  nothing  but  grass,  trees  and  sky,  and  finding 
no  protection  against  the  elements!"  And  the 
Dutch  historian  added :  "It  takes  but  a  few  lines  to 
tell  it,  but  to  live  it  is  something  wholly  different. ' ' 

It  was  indeed  a  unique  experience  for  these  Hol- 
landers to  come  from  a  foreign  land,  where  they  had 
spent  their  lives  closely  confined  in  cities  and  towns 
and  on  small  well-kept  farms,  to  the  solitude  and  iso- 


ARRIVAL  OF  THE  HOLLANDERS  IN  IOWA    69 

lation  of  life  upon  the  American  frontier.  They  had 
now  arrived  upon  the  boundless  expanse  of  the  prai- 
ries of  Iowa  to  partake  of  all  the  hardships  incident 
to  the  struggle  with  a  new  and  strange  environment. 
But  if  in  that  summer  of  1847  the  Hollanders  in- 
dulged in  no  spontaneous  outburst  of  enthusiasm,  it 
was  because  they  could  not  realize  the  tremendous 
latent  possibilities  of  a  region  which  was  destined  to 
be  transformed  into  one  of  the  garden  spots  of  Iowa. 
If  the  face  of  nature,  as  they  saw  it  then,  presented 
none  of  the  features  characteristic  of  their  trans- 
atlantic fatherland's  peasant  and  urban  life,  it  did 
not  lack  the  qualities  necessary  to  provide  ambitious 
Europeans  with  all  the  material  advantages  of  life. 
Among  the  Hollanders  who  were  now  to  begin  years 
of  struggle  in  Iowa  were  people  "who  had  the  habits 
and  preferences  of  a  well-ordered  life  in  cities  of 
habitation,  where  the  current  of  existence  was  tran- 
quil and  regular  except  when  disturbed  by  the  storms 
of  war  or  religious  persecution",  while  others  "were 
for  the  most  part  peaceable  farmers,  whose  ideal  of 
earthly  felicity  was  the  well-filled  barn  and  the  com- 
fortable fire-side."  65 


X 

MARION  COUNTY  AND  ITS  FARMS  IN  1847 

The  Hollanders  found  that  the  claims  and  govern- 
ment lands  which  their  leader,  Scholte,  had  pur- 
chased lay  in  the  northeastern  corner  of  Marion 
County  in  Jefferson  and  Lake  Prairie  townships. 
From  the  highest  point  they  beheld  a  vast  expanse  of 
undulating  prairie  covered  with  long  wiry  grass  and 
wild  flowers,  dotted  here  and  there  with  little  groves 
of  native  timber,  sloping  gently  toward  the  dark  and 
heavily  timbered  valleys  of  two  large  rivers,  the 
Skunk  and  the  Des  Moines,  which  flowed  southeast- 
ward and  parallel  about  ten  miles  apart.  Under  a 
clear  sky  the  landscape  extended  for  many  miles  in 
every  direction.  Then  too  were  visible  some  of  the 
crude  log  cabins  and  other  little  buildings  of  the 
widely-scattered  homesteads  of  American  pioneers, 
and  small  fields  of  Indian  corn  and  other  grain  en- 
closed in  the  picturesque,  zigzag  rail  fences  of  that 
primitive  day.66 

Marion  County  lay  in  a  vast  stretch  of  country 
which  had  been  ceded  by  the  Indians  to  the  United 
States  government  in  1842.  This  immense  area, 
known  as  ' '  The  New  Purchase ' ',  was  not  thrown  open 
to  homeseekers  until  May  1,  1843,  after  the  Indians 
had  in  silence  once  more  vanished  further  to  the 

70 


MARION  COUNTY  AND  ITS  FARMS  IN  1847     71 

westward.  On  the  10th  of  June,  1845,  Marion  Coun- 
ty was  established ;  and  though  it  constituted  one  of 
the  fairest  portions  of  the  Territory  of  Iowa  in 
April,  1846,  it  could  claim  a  population  of  not  more 
than  fifteen  hundred  souls.  Its  only  considerable 
town  was  Knoxville,  the  seat  of  justice.67 

In  1847  Iowa  City  was  the  State  capital,  while 
Fort  Des  Moines,  the  future  seat  of  government,  had 
but  recently  been  evacuated  by  United  States  Dra- 
goons. The  Hollanders  had  come,  therefore,  to  live 
upon  the  outskirts  of  civilization  at  a  time  when  the 
vanguard  of  hardy  pioneers  advancing  to  conquer 
the  great  American  West  had  just  reached  and  occu- 
pied the  central  portion  of  the  State  of  Iowa.68 

Here  upon  the  western  American  frontier  Scholte 
secured  the  title  to  eighteen  thousand  acres  of  excel- 
lent land,  a  very  small  part  of  which  consisted  of 
the  scattered  farms  of  the  original  settlers,  and  the 
remainder  of  government  land,  much  of  which  was 
covered  by  warrants  issued  to  veterans  of  the  Mexi- 
can War  as  remuneration  or  reward  for  military 
service.  A  wealthy  citizen  of  Keokuk  aided  Scholte 
in  buying  up  these  land-warrants  for  one  hundred 
and  sixty  acres  at  from  $80  to  $100  apiece.  Other 
government  land  was  purchased  at  $1.25  per  acre.09 

When  Scholte  and  his  colleagues  visited  Marion 
County  to  investigate  its  possibilities,  they  had  only 
limited  authority  from  the  association  and  insuffi- 
cient association  funds.  Scholte,  however,  did  not 
hesitate  to  act  upon  his  own  responsibility.  He  pur- 
chased not  only  government  lands  and  the  farms,  but 


72  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

also  crops,  stock,  and  other  personal  property,  being 
glad  to  supply  from  his  own  purse  the  necessary 
money  for  that  purpose  because  he  perceived  ''the 
excellent  quality  and  exceptional  fertility  of  the  soil 
and  the  facility  of  cultivation".70 

Scholte  took  precautions  to  make  his  payments 
of  money  directly  to  the  United  States  government 
in  order  to  be  assured  of  the  title  to  the  claims.  Thus 
he  insured  himself  against  deceitful  speculators.  Of 
course  he  paid  the  original  settlers,  who  numbered 
about  thirty,  what  they  demanded  as  a  reasonable 
return  for  their  improvements  on  the  land.  From 
the  amount  of  purchase-money  and  the  government 
price  he  was  able  to  calculate  how  much  the  land 
would  cost  per  acre  and  what  each  subscriber's  share 
would  be.  Lots  were  drawn  to  fix  the  order  of  land- 
owners and  the  numbers  of  the  sections  to  which 
each  owner  was  to  be  assigned,  whereupon  a  sur- 
veyor could  proceed  to  measure  off  the  areas  for 
which  the  members  of  the  association  had  subscribed 
in  Holland.71  Such  were  some  of  the  steps  prelim- 
inary to  the  realization  of  Dutch  community  life  in 
Iowa. 


XI 

THE  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  THE  DUTCH 
COMMUNITY 

Nearly  six  hundred  foreigners  in  an  unsettled  coun- 
try must  have  presented  a  scene  of  great  bustle  and 
industry  in  the  late  summer  and  autumn  of  1847. 
First  of  all  they  had  to  provide  immediate  shelter 
of  some  sort ;  and  then  they  proceeded  to  erect  more 
permanent,  substantial  dwellings  as  a  necessary  pro- 
tection against  the  rigors  of  an  approaching  Iowa 
winter.  Of  the  inadequate  quantity  of  lumber  which 
they  found  they  constructed  simple  sheds  which  af- 
forded cover  to  many  families.  Other  families  were 
housed  in  the  log  cabins  and  other  buildings  of  the 
American  settlers  who  vacated  their  homesteads  as 
quickly  as  possible.  But  a  majority  of  the  immi- 
grants commenced  house-keeping  in  this  wild  land 
much  after  the  manner  of  primitive  people. 

Shortly  after  their  arrival  on  September  2,  1847, 
the  Hollanders  engaged  a  surveyor  to  lay  out  eight 
blocks  of  a  new  town.  Later  more  space  was  added ; 
and  for  many  years  the  streets  and  the  avenues  bore 
the  names  which  Scholte  gave  them.  The  streets 
were  called  Extension,  Addition,  Columbus,  Wash- 
ington, Franklin,  Liberty,  Union,  Independence, 
Peace,  South  End,  University,  and  Oskaloosa ;  while 

73 


74  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

the  avenues  were  Entrance,  Inquiring,  Perseverance, 
Reformation,  Gratitude,  Experience,  Patience,  Con- 
fidence, Expectation,  and  Accomplishment.  In  Hol- 
land it  appears  that  Scholte  had  prayed  that  God 
would  "prepare  for  His  people  another  PELL  A, 
and  let  the  motto  of  its  inhabitants  be  in  truth :  In 
God  is  our  hope  and  refuge.  In  Deo  Spes  Nostra  et 
Ref  ugium. ' ' 

Pella  was  platted  in  order  that  all  persons  who 
wished  might  build  houses  at  once.72  Despite  the 
lack  of  sufficient  ready  lumber,  the  first  Dutch  city- 
builders  in  Iowa  showed  their  practical,  workday 
character  by  using  whatever  materials  nature  fur- 
nished close  at  hand.  They  received  an  early  visit 
from  an  Iowa  tourist  who  had  lectured  with  success 
in  various  parts  of  England.  This  gentleman  no- 
ticed that  "the  men  in  blanket  coats  and  jeans  were 
gone",  and  that  a  race  of  broad-shouldered  men  "in 
velvet  jackets  and  wooden  shoes"  was  there,  "re- 
joicing in  the  antiquity  of  nearly  a  month."  He  saw 
most  of  them  living  "in  camps,  the  tops  covered  with 
tent  cloth,  some  with  grass  and  bushes,  the  sides 
barricaded  with  countless  numbers  of  trunks,  boxes 
and  chests  of  the  oddest  and  most  grotesque  descrip- 
tion that  Yankees  or  Hawkeyes  ever  beheld."  73 

The  Hollanders,  however,  were  not  satisfied  with 
dwellings  so  crude,  so  characteristic  of  a  lower  stage 
of  civilization,  like  Indian  tepees.  They  quickly 
constructed  "dug-outs"  or  "sod-houses" —  so-called 
because  their  interior  lay  partly  below  and  partly 
above  the  surface  of  the  ground.  Earth  was  removed 


ESTABLISHMENT  OF  DUTCH  COMMUNITY     75 

to  the  depth  of  a  few  feet,  and  blocks  of  tough  prairie 
sod  several  inches  thick  were  then  piled  up  to  com- 
plete the  upper  portion  of  the  walls.  Roofs  con- 
sisted simply  of  branches  covered  with  prairie  or 
slough  grass,  straw  or  reeds;  while  doors  of  sack- 
cloth and  interwoven  twigs,  and  chimneys  built  of 
sod  blocks  completed  the  sombre  exterior  of  what 
came  to  be  called  "Strooijen  Stad"  (Straw  Town). 

Despite  the  appearance  of  these  early  homes, 
which  indicated  a  partial  but  compulsory  reversion 
to  a  more  primitive  state  of  nature,  these  sod  houses 
in  many  cases  served  as  human  habitations  for  near- 
ly two  years.  As  makeshifts  against  exposure  to 
all  sorts  of  wintry  weather,  these  inelegant  quarters 
stood  until  their  occupants  were  better  able  to  erect 
more  sanitary  and  substantial  houses ;  and  although 
never  entirely  water-proof,  they  provided  a  consid- 
erable measure  of  comfort  and  satisfaction,  partly 
due  no  doubt  to  the  mildness  of  the  first  Iowa  win- 
ter.74 

Later  on,  as  lumber  became  more  plentiful,  frame 
buildings,  both  cabins  and  barns,  gradually  sup- 
planted the  temporary,  unsanitary  shacks  and  hovels. 
Like  true  American  backwoodsmen,  the  Hollanders 
quickly  learned  to  thank  their  rivers  for  the  incal- 
culable advantage  of  forests  of  fine  hard-wood  trees. 
They  found  that  their  settlement  embraced  a  quan- 
tity of  excellent  timber  sufficient  to  supply  all  needs. 
But  during  the  early  months  and  years  the  supply 
of  lumber  to  be  obtained  from  American-owned  saw- 
mills on  the  Des  Moines  River  was  so  limited  and 


76  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

the  demand  so  great  that  Scholte  availed  himself  of 
the  water-power  of  the  Skunk  River,  installed  ma- 
chinery in  a  mill  of  his  own,  and  thus  early  in  1848 
began  to  manufacture  lumber  for  the  Dutch  colony.75 

In  1856  the  growing  city  of  Pella,  beautiful- 
ly situated  on  a  high  and  spacious  prairie  plateau, 
presented  a  pleasing  view  with  its  rows  of  simple, 
wooden  houses,  interspersed  with  a  few  red  brick 
dwellings.  Hollanders  in  the  fatherland  during  the 
nineteenth  century  were  accustomed  to  living  in 
brick  houses;  they  shrugged  their  shoulders  and 
pitied  those  Americans  who  were  forced  to  live  in 
flimsy,  wooden  structures;  but  inhabitants  of  Pella 
declared  that  they  needed  no  pity  because  they  had 
learned  to  find  a  combination  of  comfort,  conveni- 
ence, and  even  beauty  in  these  neat,  little  dwellings, 
which  were  in  many  respects  so  desirable  that  as  "to 
style  and  general  taste  they  did  not  need  to  bow 
before  the  low  brick  cottages  of  Europe."76 

Although  the  city  of  Pella  grew  and  developed 
like  any  other  frontier  town  of  the  early  days,  city- 
building  by  the  Hollanders  was  not  the  primary  ob- 
ject of  their  coming  to  Iowa.  Most  of  the  people 
were  farmers,  and  even  those  who  had  never  tilled 
the  soil  found  such  abundant  opportunity  to  become 
farmers  that  from  the  beginning  the  Dutch  colony 
of  Marion  County  was  distinctively  an  agricultural 
community.  It  is  true,  as  someone  has  said,  that 
"a  new  land  offered  the  opportunity,  a  wild  land 
presented  the  necessity,  a  rich  land  held  out  the 
reward,  to  men  who  were  eager  to  do  something." 


ESTABLISHMENT  OF  DUTCH  COMMUNITY    77 

That  farming  was  the  first  thing  to  come  into  notice 
among  the  Hollanders  as  furnishing  the  best  and 
surest  prospects  was  a  matter  of  course.  One  man 
after  another,  upon  getting  possession  of  land,  "as 
quickly  as  possible  harnessed  all  his  united  strength 
to  make  the  earth  yield  up  her  rich  treasures. ' '  " 

Families  of  Hollanders  entered  the  homesteads 
vacated  by  their  first  American  occupants  and  at 
once  set  about  to  care  for  the  stock  and  crops.  There 
was  abundant  work  for  all  hands  to  do.  Besides  the 
building  of  cabins  and  barns,  the  newcomers  busied 
themselves  with  general  farm  duties.  They  soon  dis- 
covered the  truth  of  the  general  American  newspaper 
report  that  they  had  settled  in  one  of  the  best  parts 
of  Iowa:  they  found  a  soil  suitable  for  the  growth 
of  all  kinds  of  products  when  once  the  tough  prairie 
sod  was  broken.  On  the  farms  which  Scholte  had 
bought  grew  excellent  summer  and  winter  wheat, 
oats,  buckwheat,  flax,  hemp,  and  Indian  corn,  as  well 
as  vegetables  of  fine  quality.  In  the  timber  grew 
wild  fruits  in  profusion.78 

For  the  live-stock,  which  American  pioneers  cus- 
tomarily allowed  to  roam  loose  upon  the  open  prairie 
and  in  the  timber  summer  and  winter,  the  Holland- 
ers provided  some  sort  of  shelter.  They  were  es- 
pecially pleased  with  the  rich  milk  of  the  American 
cows ;  and  they  early  convinced  themselves  that  they 
could  produce  butter  and  cheese  which  not  only  com- 
pared favorably  with  the  best  in  Holland,  but  also 
promised  to  be  of  incalculable  value  to  them  because 
the  butter  and  cheese  of  their  American  neighbors 


78  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

were  quite  generally  bad  and  sometimes  unfit  for  con- 
sumption. Indeed,  the  making  of  butter  and  cheese 
became  a  considerable  industry  during  the  early 
years,  and  "Iowa  Cheese"  became  famous  in  the 
St.  Louis  market,  commanding  the  highest  price. 
Not  only  was  dairy-farming  a  popular  occupation 
from  the  start  because  the  Hollanders  had  brought 
all  the  secrets  with  them  from  Europe,  but  stock- 
raising  also  became  profitable  in  the  course  of  time. 
Especially  did  the  foreigners  learn  the  value  of  one 
of  America's  staple  products,  the  hog,  which  they 
had  always  looked  upon  as  a  comparative  curiosity 
in  Europe  and  now  came  to  regard  as  an  asset  char- 
acteristic and  typical  of  western  farm-life.  Indeed, 
early  Iowa  pioneers  allowed  their  hogs  to  run  loose 
in  the  woods,  thus  foraging  for  themselves  and  re- 
quiring no  attention  until  they  were  ready  to  be 
fattened  when  Indian  corn  was  so  abundant  that  they 
could  be  quickly  prepared  for  market  and  sold  in 
the  shape  of  ham,  bacon,  and  lard.79 

Most  difficult  for  the  Hollanders  was  the  task  of 
learning  to  accustom  themselves  to  the  demands  of 
frontier  life.  Transplanted  from  Europe  to  the  west- 
ernmost point  reached  by  American  home-seekers, 
dwelling  upon  that  ' '  irregular,  imaginary  line  which 
separated  their  farm  lands  and  the  unused  West", 
they  suffered  more  than  Americans  who  lived  under 
similar  circumstances.  They  missed  the  ordinary 
household  comforts  of  Holland  and  many  of  the  ne- 
cessities of  life,  but  from  the  experience  of  early 
years  they  learned  to  imitate  their  American  pioneer 


ESTABLISHMENT  OP  DUTCH  COMMUNITY     79 


neighbors.  Slowly  they  adapted  themselves  to  their 
strange  environment  and  a  wholly  different  standard 
of  living;  and  they  soon  realized  that  the  problem 
for  them  to  solve  was  how  to  become  self-sufficient 
when  their  supply  of  Dutch  money  gave  out. 

The  Hollanders  were  not  long  in  discovering  that 
the  articles  which  they  had  been  accustomed  to  buy 
ready-made  in  Holland  were  manufactured  by  Amer- 
ican frontiersmen  from  the  products  of  the  soil  — 
as  for  instance  bread  and  other  food-stuffs,  candles, 
and  woolen  and  linen  cloth  for  home-made  clothing. 
In  the  absence  of  plows  some  used  spades  at  first  and 
waited  patiently  until  they  could  obtain  such  agri- 
cultural implements  as  plows,  harrows,  and  wagons 
from  their  Pella  blacksmiths  who  worked  night  and 
day;  and  even  then  many  lacked  money  enough  to 
purchase  the  necessary  horses  or  oxen  and  machin- 
ery. It  was  therefore  a  difficult  problem  to  make 
progress  without  ready  money. 

Scholte  observed  that  American  pioneers  got 
along  without  much  money:  "Only  when  they  get 
money  into  their  hands  by  selling  their  claims  do 
they  begin  to  buy,  and  in  that  event  they  are  general- 
ly liberal  in  giving  or  paying.  The  American  people 
in  general  understand  how  to  make  money,  as  is  well 
known,  but  they  also  have  the  inclination  to  be  gen- 
erous in  giving  it  away.  That  parsimony  which  is 
sometimes  called  stinginess  is  not  a  reigning  evil 
with  them.  They  do  not  turn  over  a  dime  four  times, 
as  the  saying  goes  in  Holland,  before  spending  it, 


80  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

and  therefore  they  get  rid  of  money  more  quickly, 
oftentimes  too  quickly  for  some  Hollanders."80 

Great  must  have  been  the  awe  with  which  Iowa's 
first  Dutch  settlers  regarded  that  picturesque,  no- 
madic element  of  the  American  frontier  population, 
the  backwoodsman,  who  could  generally  be  found 
upon  the  crest  of  the  human  wave  which  filled  the 
empty  places  of  the  West.  These  adventurers  pre- 
ceded the  rush  of  emigrants  westward,  staked  out 
their  claims,  hunted  and  fished,  cleared  and  worked 
some  acres  of  soil  for  a  year  or  two  until  the  coming 
of  others  to  their  neighborhood.  Then,  to  escape 
the  pressure  of  advancing  emigration,  they  sold  their 
clearings  at  a  profit,  packed  their  simple  belongings 
into  heavy,  canvas-covered  wagons  drawn  by  horses 
or  oxen,  and  from  pure  love  of  freedom  proceeded 
farther  westward  to  resume  their  life  in  the  woods 
or  on  the  plains.81 

Scholte,  leader  of  the  Dutch  immigrants  in  every 
branch  of  activity,  set  up  a  lime-kiln  and  a  brick-kiln 
at  an  early  date,  thus  furnishing  labor  to  masons. 
Bakers,  tailors,  shoemakers,  painters,  office  clerks, 
business  managers,  and  others  —  all  were  represent- 
ed in  the  Pella  population,  but  most  of  them  found 
their  trades  and  occupations  superfluous  among  peo- 
ple of  simple  tastes.  Hence  they  adapted  them- 
selves to  the  situation  by  learning  to  till  the  soil  as 
a  means  of  support.  But  "the  hands  of  many  who 
were  city  bred  and  skilled  in  everything  but  agricul- 
ture went  wrong  when  it  became  a  question  of  making 
a  living  on  the  naked  prairie." 


ESTABLISHMENT  OF  DUTCH  COMMUNITY      81 

In  the  month  of  March,  1848,  Scholte  wrote  as 
follows : 

The  ordinary  day's  wages  is  fifty  cents  for  the  laborer, 
one  dollar  for  the  artisan.  In  general  the  Hollanders  know- 
very  well  how  to  receive  American  wages;  some  are  not 
ready  to  acquire  the  American  habit,  that  is,  to  work  fast. 
A  few,  who  do  not  care  for  work  and  imagine  that  people 
can  get  a  living  in  America  without  exertion,  find  them- 
selves badly  deceived,  since  here  too  God's  universally  es- 
tablished rule  applies :  In  the  sweat  of  thy  brow  shalt  thou 
eat  thy  bread. 

Four  men  returned  from  here  to  St.  Louis,  men  of  whose 
wrong  principles  people  here  are  generally  convinced.  Two 
of  them,  after  gadding  about  for  some  time  and  molesting 
the  colony,  ended  by  entering  military  service  in  Mexico. 
A  few  other  persons,  who  seem  to  have  thought  that  by 
means  of  a  magic  wand  one  could  cause  suitable  houses  to 
rise  up  out  of  the  ground  just  as  in  fairy  tales,  complained 
of  the  hardships,  as  the  people  of  The  Netherlands  may 
have  noticed  in  their  newspapers;  but  these  have  already 
expressed  their  grief  for  being  so  obstinate,  and  now  enter- 
tain opposite  opinions.  Some  now  own  land  and  stock,  but 
their  quantity  of  money  has  diminished  so  that  they  shall 
have  to  learn  for  the  first  time  how  to  succeed  in  the  Ameri- 
can way,  that  is,  to  do  much  with  little  money :  whether  this 
art  can  be  learned  quickly  and  well,  the  future  will  tell.82 

Unacquainted  with  the  language,  pioneer  condi- 
tions, and  ways  of  America,  the  first  Dutch  settlers 
of  Iowa  plodded  along  with  the  grim  determination 
and  patience  characteristic  of  their  nation,  and  grad- 
ually but  painfully  submitted  to  frontier  American- 
ization. 


xn 

YEARS  OF  PRIVATION  AND  SUBSEQUENT 
RELIEF 

During  the  first  four  years  of  their  history  in  Iowa 
the  Hollanders  underwent  many  novel  experiences, 
but  nothing  more  disastrous  than  the  winter  of 
1848-49.  Unfamiliar  with  the  extraordinary  ex- 
tremes of  Iowa  weather,  they  had  deceived  them- 
selves into  believing  that  the  mild  winter  of  1847-48 
was  the  rule  and  not  the  exception.  They  had  con- 
tinued to  work  outdoors  with  bare  hands,  and  had 
paid  little  attention  to  their  live-stock  which  ran 
loose  in  the  woods  and  on  the  prairies. 

In  the  spring  of  1848  they  had  been  introduced 
to  a  genuine  Iowa  windstorm  with  its  attendant  havoc 
and  destruction :  buildings  in  course  of  construction 
were  razed  to  the  ground.  Thus  began  their  ac- 
quaintance with  storms  of  cyclonic  severity.  After 
passing  a  favorable  summer  and  reaping  a  harvest 
sufficient  to  supply  the  colony's  needs,  without 
having  taken  precautions  to  provide  food  and  shelter 
for  their  stock,  they  suddenly  found  themselves  in 
the  midst  of  a  winter  such  as  few  Iowans  have 
ever  endured  before  or  since.  From  November 
in  1848  to  May  in  1849  snow  covered  the  ground  at 
an  average  depth  of  three  feet,  and  for  weeks  the 
temperature  remained  twenty  degrees  below  zero. 

82 


PRIVATION  AND  SUBSEQUENT  RELIEF        83 


Unprepared  for  this  intense  cold,  Dutch  farmers 
lost  much  live-stock  and  with  the  utmost  difficulty 
husked  a  small  quantity  of  their  snow-covered  crop 
of  Indian  corn.  Fuel  was  scarce  and  difficult  to 
obtain,  while  journeys  to  the  mill  were  tedious  and 
burdensome.  Then  in  the  spring  of  1849,  to  aggra- 
vate the  winter's  disastrous  losses,  came  the  flooded 
rivers  and  miry  sloughs  from  which  half -famished 
animals  were  too  weak  to  extricate  themselves.83 

Financially  the  Hollanders  were  on  the  whole 
practically  destitute  in  1849.  Even  those  who  had 
pursued  farming  with  good  results  considered  them- 
selves poor  in  the  midst  of  plenty,  because  they 
lacked  a  convenient  market  for  their  surplus  pro- 
ducts. So  great  was  their  discouragement  that 
many  thought  seriously  of  giving  up  and  seeking  a 
more  satisfactory  location.  Then  relief  came  in  two 
unexpected  ways. 

During  the  year  1849  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
Hollanders  came  fresh  from  Europe  to  seek  homes 
in  Pella.  Many  of  them  were  members  of  the  asso- 
ciation organized  in  Holland  in  1846,  and  it  is  said 
that  their  hearts  were  in  Pella  after  Scholte  and  the 
eight  hundred  found  land  for  the  colony.  Very  many 
of  them  were  well-to-do,  and  some  at  once  bought  out 
American  pioneers  who  had  refused  to  sell  their 
farms  to  the  first  Dutch  settlers.  The  arrival  of  so 
large  a  body  of  newcomers  meant  the  consumption 
of  surplus  products  and  this  in  turn  brought  money 
into  circulation.     Many  adopted  and  stimulated  bus- 


84  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

iness  life  in  Pella,  paid  cash  for  what  they  bought, 
and  also  made  loans  to  the  needy. 

If  the  coming  of  so  many  Hollanders  helped  to 
infuse  new  spirit  into  the  Pella  community,  even 
more  of  a  godsend  was  the  mad  scramble  of  Ameri- 
cans westward  to  reach  the  California  gold  fields, 
reports  of  the  finding  of  which  spread  like  wild-fire 
in  the  autumn  of  1848.  In  the  spring  of  1849  com- 
menced the  rush  of  Easterners,  which  proved  to  be 
a  veritable  "El  Dorado"  for  the  Hollanders  of  Mar- 
ion County.  For  a  period  of  three  months  cov- 
ered wagons  rumbled  ceaselessly  through  Pella,  and 
though  the  gold  fever  soon  subsided,  for  a  number 
of  years  a  steady  stream  of  emigrants  continued  to 
flow  through  Pella,  some  in  search  of  gold  in  Cali- 
fornia and  Colorado,  others,  like  the  Mormons,  to 
build  homes  in  Oregon  and  Utah. 

An  eye-witness,  a  Hollander,  thus  described  the 
"call  of  the  West  and  the  lust  for  gold"  as  evinced 
by  the  caravans  which  came  from  the  East  by  the 
road  through  Pella: 

They  came  in  all  sorts  of  ways.  Many  wagons  were 
drawn  by  six,  eight  or  ten  yoke  of  oxen.  Some  were  drawn 
by  cows;  most  people  had  two  teams  of  horses  or  mules 
hitched  to  their  decorated  covered  wagons,  which  were  gen- 
erally provided  with  stoves,  and  no  one  lacked  fire-arms  ex- 
cept the  man  who  undertook  the  journey  with  a  wheel- 
barrow whereon  he  bore  his  supplies.  If  we  had  not  seen 
it  with  our  own  eyes,  we  should  have  doubted  the  truth  of 
this.  He  had  his  place  in  the  long  train  of  wagons  and 
made  way  for  no  one.     TVe  noticed  later  that  the  wheel- 


PRIVATION  AND  SUBSEQUENT  RELIEF        85 

barrow  man  arrived  in  California.  The  train  of  wagons 
was  many  times  so  long-drawn  out  as  to  fill  the  entire  street 
from  east  to  west.  The  number  of  well-behaved  persons 
among  the  trekkers  was  very  small ;  most  of  them  were 
coarse  and  disorderly. 

Those  who  remained  on  their  Iowa  farms  and 
furnished  the  fortune-hunters  with  necessary  food 
and  other  articles  gained  immense  profit  from  the 
thirst  for  gold.  One  Dutch  farmer  who  lived  upon 
the  Iowa  route  declared : 

We  sold  the  trekkers  to  California  all  we  had,  and 
bought  up  more  from  our  neighbors  who  lived  farther  from 
the  road.  We  sold  a  bushel  of  corn  for  one  dollar,  a  bushel  of 
oats  for  one  dollar,  a  bushel  of  wheat  for  one  dollar,  100 
pounds  of  hay  for  one  dollar,  everything  for  one  dollar: 
that  was  easy  to  remember.  A  yoke  of  oxen  brought  from 
$50  to  $55 ;  a  cow  from  $20  to  $25.  The  trekkers,  however, 
could  stand  it.  Some  had  cooks  and  negro  servants.  A 
man  from  Davenport  came  with  350  head  of  cattle.  He  had 
two  more  herds  of  the  same  size,  altogether  1,000  head,  on 
the  way.84 

Thus  it  will  be  seen  how  marvelous  was  the  influ- 
ence of  newcomers  from  Holland  and  of  "forty- 
niners"  from  eastern  States.  The  former  came  to 
begin  life  anew,  and  providing  for  their  various 
needs  revived  the  zeal  and  industry  of  the  Dutch  set- 
tlers who  had  struggled  hard  for  over  a  year  in  town 
and  country.  Gold-seekers  left  much  money  among 
the  Hollanders  who  did  not  hesitate  to  charge  them 
what  were  extortionate  prices  for  that  day. 


XIII 

HOPES  AND  DISAPPOINTMENTS 

One  of  the  principal  drawbacks,  if  not  the  great- 
est, of  early  frontier  life  in  central  Iowa  was  the 
absence  of  convenient  markets  and  suitable  means 
of  exporting  farm  products  or  importing  articles  for 
farm  and  household  use.  Neither  railroads  nor 
steamboats  had  yet  reached  Marion  County. 

The  only  agency  of  regular  communication  with 
the  outer  world  at  first  was  a  United  States  post- 
route  and  post-office.  When  the  Hollanders  arrived 
upon  their  newly-purchased  lands,  the  American  set- 
tlers were  accustomed  to  get  mail  at  an  office  on  the 
Des  Moines  River,  but  when  the  postmaster  sold  his 
farm  to  Scholte,  his  office  came  to  an  end.  ' '  Recog- 
nizing the  need  of  a  post-office,"  wrote  Scholte,  "with 
the  other  members  of  our  Council  I  wrote  at  once  to 
Washington  requesting,  with  an  assignment  of  rea- 
sons, that  the  old  office  and  route  be  removed  to  Pel- 
la,  at  the  same  time  recommending  a  competent  per- 
son for  the  postmastership.  We  received  a  speedy 
and  favorable  reply  and  the  necessary  authoriza- 
tion." The  Hollanders  were  thus  enabled  to  obtain 
mail  twice  a  week  from  the  eastern  States  and  from 
relatives  in  The  Netherlands.  They  also  received 
assurance  that  another  post-route  to  the  county  seat 

86 


HOPES  AND  DISAPPOINTMENTS  87 


would  be  relocated  in  such  a  way  as  to  pass  through 
Pella.85 

But  in  the  matter  of  establishing  commercial  and 
trade  relations  with  such  distant  markets  as  Keokuk 
and  St.  Louis  the  Hollanders,  like  most  other  Iowans, 
experienced  no  little  inconvenience.  To  be  sure, 
their  agricultural  products  found  ready  consumers 
in  the  increasing  population  of  their  neighborhood  — 
a  cause  which  continued  to  afford  a  market  at  every 
man's  door  for  two  or  three  years.  But  when  they 
had  surplus  products,  such  as  grain  and  pork,  or  if 
they  had  money  and  desired  to  raise  their  standard 
of  living,  they  needed  access  to  larger  markets. 

The  city  of  Keokuk,  one  hundred  and  twenty 
miles  away,  situated  at  the  foot  of  the  Des  Moines 
rapids  of  the  Mississippi  River,  had  become  one  of 
Iowa's  most  considerable  ports  and  places  of  busi- 
ness. Steamboats  for  the  transportation  of  passen- 
gers and  merchandise  plied  regularly  in  large  num- 
bers between  New  Orleans,  St.  Louis,  and  Keokuk, 
where  goods  destined  for  points  farther  north  had 
to  be  unloaded  and  conveyed  over  the  rapids  in  light 
keel-boats. 

In  the  early  development  of  the  vast  resources  of 
Iowa  the  Mississippi  River  came  to  be  the  most  im- 
portant agent.  As  the  main  avenue  of  trade,  it 
placed  the  pioneers  of  Iowa  in  direct  touch  with  the 
markets  of  the  world.  Grocery  supplies,  farm  im- 
plements, mill  machinery,  dry  goods,  and  hardware 
were  shipped  by  sea  from  New  York  City  to  New 


88  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

Orleans  and  northward,  or  by  the  Ohio  River  route 
to  St.  Louis,  and  thence  to  the  Iowa  country. 

The  most  reliable  means  of  communication  be- 
tween Keokuk,  the  "Gate  City  of  Iowa",  and  Pella 
was  the  State  Road  —  an  excellent  highway  running 
along  the  ridge  between  the  valleys  of  two  rivers. 
In  1848  this  road  was  extended  by  law  to  include  the 
nearest  and  most  direct  route  to  Fort  Des  Moines. 
And  until  about  the  year  1865  this  thoroughfare  was 
used  for  the  transportation  of  Pella  products  to 
Keokuk  and  St.  Louis  and  of  manufactured  goods  to 
Pella.  As  a  means  by  which  merchandise  could  be 
received  and  produce  exported  the  overland  route 
was  long  and  tedious ;  at  the  same  time  the  Holland- 
ers found  it  better  than  the  roads  of  Holland,  except 
after  heavy  rains.  Under  ordinary  circumstances 
they  paid  seventy-five  cents  per  hundred  pounds  of 
freight,  and  $1.1214  per  hundred  pounds  when  the 
road  was  at  its  worst.86 

Shortly  before  the  Dutch  settled  in  Marion  Coun- 
ty Congress  gave  ear  to  the  agitation  in  Iowa  in 
favor  of  the  improvement  of  the  Des  Moines  River. 
Farm  products  of  the  Des  Moines  Valley  had  in- 
creased to  such  an  extent  that  some  rapid  export 
route  became  absolutely  necessary.  Accordingly,  in 
1846  the  government  took  what  at  the  time  promised 
to  be  one  of  the  most  important  steps  ever  taken  to 
develop  Iowa's  resources:  all  alternate  sections  of 
land  in  a  strip  five  miles  wide  on  each  side  of  the 
Des  Moines  River  from  its  mouth  to  its  source  were 
granted  as  an  appropriation  to  provide  for  a  system 


HOPES  AND  DISAPPOINTMENTS  89 

of  slack-water  navigation  from  Keokuk  to  Fort  Des 
Moines.87 

One  year  after  Congress  made  such  munificent 
provision  for  the  internal  development  of  Iowa, 
Scholte  and  his  association  of  Hollanders  indulged 
in  the  expectation  that,  since  one-half  of  the  distance 
to  be  made  navigable  had  been  surveyed  and  the  sites 
for  dams  and  locks  had  been  selected,  the  expense  of 
transportation  to  and  from  Pella  in  the  future  would 
be  greatly  lessened  and  the  means  of  transportation 
would  be  facilitated. 

Hardly  had  the  town  of  Pella  been  platted  when 
Scholte  was  requested  by  his  American  neighbors  to 
lay  out  another  town  to  be  called  Amsterdam.  To 
this  request  he  assented  by  selecting  some  land  on 
the  banks  of  the  Des  Moines  Eiver  at  a  point  where 
the  stream  was  easily  forded,  where  a  dam  and  lock 
would  later  be  necessary,  and  where  a  considerable 
harbor  was  expected  to  grow  up  on  account  of  its 
position  half-way  between  Ottumwa  and  Fort  Des 
Moines.  When  the  river  should  once  be  made  navi- 
gable for  ships  and  steamboats,  this  town  promised 
to  become  the  port  of  Pella  and  vicinity:  "the  recol- 
lection of  what  Holland's  Amsterdam  once  was  and 
of  what  the  American  Amsterdam  (now  called  New 
York)  is  coming  to  be  induced  us  to  give  this  place 
in  Iowa  the  same  name,  since  it  was  both  of  Dutch 
origin  and  also  intended  for  trade."  And  it  was 
also  hoped  and  suggested  in  1848  that  as  soon  as 
regular  navigation  became  possible  on  Iowa's  great- 
est river,  a  small  body  of  water,  called  Lake  Prairie, 


90  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 


east  of  Amsterdam  would  present  unusual  opportu- 
nities for  the  construction  of  factories  run  by  water- 
power. 

Two  years  later,  in  1850,  a  store  opened  at  Am- 
sterdam ;  many  people  bought  lots  and  built  houses ; 
while  two  brick-kilns  and  a  lime-kiln  made  the  town 
temporarily  of  some  importance.  But  in  the  midst 
of  promise  came  the  memorable  floods  of  the  spring 
of  1851.  A  blight  settled  upon  the  hopes  and  pros- 
pects of  the  promoters  of  the  young  city  when  they 
began  to  perceive  that  the  improvement  of  the  Des 
Moines  River  was  an  ideal  never  to  be  realized. 
High  water  at  once  revealed  how  stupendous  and  im- 
practicable was  the  task  of  rendering  the  Des  Moines 
Eiver  navigable.  Furthermore  the  position  of  Am- 
sterdam upon  the  river's  banks  proved  to  be  un- 
healthful:  this  fact  retarded  its  growth.  Indeed, 
the  great  Dutch  name  is  no  longer  on  the  map  of 
Iowa :  only  corn  fields  mark  the  spot  where  Amster- 
dam was  expected  to  rise.S8 

Although  steamboating  on  the  Des  Moines  River 
continued  to  appeal  to  Iowans  of  that  day  and  sev- 
eral boats  succeeded  in  navigating  the  uncertain 
channel  at  different  times,  as  a  means  of  transport- 
ing produce  to  southern  markets  the  river  route 
failed  dismally  to  satisfy  the  needs  of  the  settlers. 
The  man  who  probably  ranked  next  to  Scholte  as  the 
most  public-spirited  citizen  among  the  early  Dutch 
settlers  in  Iowa  was  A.  E.  D.  Bousquet.  He  met 
with  serious  reverses  in  his  efforts  to  make  the  Des 
Moines  River  a  suitable  outlet  and  waterway.     In 


HOPES  AND  DISAPPOINTMENTS  91 


the  flood  year  of  1851  he  and  other  Pella  merchants 
conceived  the  idea  of  shipping  great  quantities  of 
corn  down-stream  in  flat-boats  to  St.  Louis.  Their 
venture  was  only  partially  and  accidentally  success- 
ful and  their  plan  was  henceforth  abandoned  as  im- 
practicable. 

Two  years  later  Bousquet  organized  the  Des 
Moines  Steamboat  Company,  and  again  he  met  with 
disappointment.  It  was  written  of  him  that  he 
"loved  the  new  country  in  which  he  had  cast  his  lot ; 
for  its  prospects  seemed  golden  to  his  eyes.  He  had 
considerable  means  ....  and  deemed  it  the 
better  part  to  spend  his  money  in  developing  the 
country  rather  than  in  buying  great  quantities  of 
land  and  making  himself  rich  by  advancing  prices 
,  .  .  .  'If  I  should  do  this  I  should  be  as  great 
a  curse  to  my  community  as  the  eastern  specula- 
tors!'  "  He  also  undertook  to  lay  a  plank-road  from 
Keokuk  to  Pella,  and  is  said  to  have  completed  from 
twenty  to  twenty-five  miles.89 

Railroad  agitation  in  the  years  immediately  fol- 
lowing Iowa's  admission  into  the  Union  reached  the 
Hollanders  of  Marion  County  and  led  to  no  little 
speculation  among  them.  They  prided  themselves 
on  the  advantageous  situation  of  their  colony  when 
it  became  generally  known  that  Pella  was  to  be  only 
fifteen  or  twenty  miles  southwest  of  the  recently 
chosen  site  for  the  State  capital.  Certain  State  com- 
missioners had  been  appointed  with  authority  to  se- 
lect a  place  nearer  to  the  geographical  center  of  the 
State  of  Iowa  than  Iowa  City  then  was. 


92  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

Inhabitants  of  the  Des  Moines  Valley  had  been 
especially  interested  in  the  removal  of  the  seat  of 
government  from  Iowa  City,  and  as  a  consequence 
of  the  general  dissatisfaction  and  agitation  the  com- 
missioners caused  five  sections  of  land  near  the 
southern  boundary  of  Jasper  County  to  be  surveyed, 
platted  into  lots,  and  sold  at  public  auction  during 
the  latter  part  of  October,  1847.  They  called  the 
new  capital  Monroe  City.  The  Hollanders,  who 
perceived  the  advantage  of  living  so  near,  were  great- 
ly disappointed  when  the  work  of  the  commissioners 
was  later  rendered  null  and  void.  When  the  agita- 
tion in  favor  of  relocating  the  State  Capital  revived 
the  Hollanders  themselves  for  many  years  petitioned 
the  State  legislature  to  locate  the  seat  of  govern- 
ment at  Pella,  Scholte  offering  to  donate  land  to  aid 
in  the  construction  of  State  buildings. 

After  Monroe  City  had  been  selected  as  the  site 
for  the  new  capital  of  Iowa,  talk  of  a  railway  from 
Dubuque  to  Council  Bluffs  became  more  insistent, 
causing  the  Hollanders  to  hope  and  believe  that 
Whitney's  proposed  railroad  across  the  continent 
would  either  pass  through  or  at  least  very  near 
Pella.  Further  hopes  were  raised  when  dissatis- 
faction was  expressed  concerning  the  situation  of 
the  county  seat  at  Knoxville.  Indeed,  many  Ameri- 
can settlers  urged  this  as  a  reason  why  Scholte  should 
lay  out  the  town  of  Amsterdam,  convinced  that  if  the 
matter  ever  came  to  a  vote  the  people  would  un- 
doubtedly select  this  place  as  the  seat  of  justice.90 

Such  were  some  of  the  hopes  and  aspirations  of 


HOPES  AND  DISAPPOINTMENTS  93 

the  Dutch  inhabitants  of  Iowa  during  the  first  five 
years  of  their  residence  in  the  State.  In  every  in- 
stance time  revealed  that  anticipation  was  more 
pleasant  than  realization;  but  despite  their  disap- 
pointments the  Hollanders  plodded  along  and  grew 
in  strength  and  numbers. 


XIV 

EARLY  PROMOTION   OF   IMMIGRATION   TO 

PELLA 

Most  memorable  in  the  history  of  emigration  from 
Holland  to  America  are  the  years  1846  and  1847  be- 
cause they  mark  the  beginning  of  an  exodus  which 
has  never  abated  and  which  resulted  in  the  founding 
of  the  prosperous  Dutch  colonies  in  Michigan  and 
Iowa.  Thousands  of  Hollanders  have  since  found 
homes  in  all  of  the  north  central  States.  An  exami- 
nation of  census  statistics  reveals  the  fact  that  in 
1850  there  lived  in  Iowa  1108  foreign-born  Holland- 
ers, 2077  in  1856,  2615  in  1860,  and  4513  in  1870. 
These  figures  are  by  no  means  surprising;  indeed 
they  are  rather  disappointing  when  compared  with 
those  for  Michigan.  The  northern  State  succeeded 
in  luring  more  than  twice  as  many  Dutch  immigrants 
to  her  forests  as  Iowa  attracted  to  her  fertile 
prairies  during  the  same  period. 

One  reason  assigned  for  Michigan's  large  Hol- 
land-born population  is  the  fact  that  the  families 
which  followed  van  Raalte  were  for  the  most  part 
poor  but  ambitious  people,  and  for  such  it  was  easier 
to  get  a  start  in  Michigan  than  in  Iowa.  Financially 
the  Hollanders  of  Iowa  were  better  off:  Scholte  is 
said  to  have  led  "the  flower  of  the  Dutch  emigra- 

94 


EARLY  PROMOTION  OF  IMMIGRATION         95 

tion  of  that  day".  The  vast  majority  of  Dutch  im- 
migrants were  destitute  and  therefore  were  com- 
pelled to  settle  where  they  could  get  lands  for  almost 
nothing.  Michigan's  boundless  timber  tracts  fur- 
nished the  majority  of  the  poor  laborers  and  peas- 
ants with  just  what  they  wanted,  while  Iowa's  prairie 
lands  in  the  neighborhood  of  recent  settlements 
were  not  within  reach  of  their  depleted  purses.91 

Another  reason  for  the  extensive  settlement  of 
Michigan  by  Hollanders  as  compared  with  that  of 
Iowa  is  probably  to  be  found  in  the  nature  of  the 
two  leaders  themselves  and  in  the  character  of  what 
may  be'  called  their  advertising  methods.  It  is  a 
noteworthy  fact  that  both  men  encouraged  their  fel- 
low-countrymen to  flee  from  the  Old  World  and  come 
to  a  land  where  the  honest  workman  was  openly  wel- 
comed and  easily  enabled  "to  earn  and  eat  his  own 
bread ' '. 

Early  in  1847  van  Raalte  wrote  a  lengthy  letter 
to  a  friend  in  Holland  describing  the  colony  which 
he~1ia"ti  lusOounded.  The  letter  was  printed  in  the 
form  ofa  pamphlet  entitled  "Holland  in  America, 
or  The  Dutch  Colony  in  the  State  of  Michigan",  and 
it  was  offered  for  sale  to  the  Dutch  public.  Van 
Raalte  furnished  an  excellent  account  of  his  new 
home,  his  reasons  for  selecting  timber  land,  a  state- 
ment of  general  economic  conditions  in  America,  and 
he  suggested  the  best  routes  of  travel  for  prospec- 
tive Dutch  settlers.  Incidentally  he  declared  that 
trustworthy  men  had  unanimously  urged  him  to  go 
to   Wisconsin    or   Michigan   rather   than   to    Iowa, 


96  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

where  much  sickness  prevailed  owing  to  an  unhealth- 
ful  climate.  In  short,  the  pamphlet  was  an  excel- 
lent advertisement  written  in  attractive  style  and 
intended  to  convey  the  information  which  prospec- 
tive emigrants  needed.92 

In  March,  1848,  Scholte  wrote  his  first  letter  from 
Pella  and  had  it  published  in  pamphlet  form  to  be 
sold  among  the  people  of  Holland.  He  told  about 
reading  van  Raalte's  account  of  the  climate  of  Iowa, 
and  went  on  to  say  that  when  he  arrived  in  America 
he  obtained  an  entirely  different  impression.  After 
informing  the  people  of  Holland  how  well  he  and  his 
followers  had  been  received  in  America  he  explained 
why  he  preferred  Iowa  to  Michigan.  He  asserted 
the  claims  of  Iowa  and  expressed  the  brightest  hopes 
for  the  development  of  his  colony  in  Marion  County. 
To  Scholte 's  credit  it  may  be  said  that  though  he 
was  aware  that  attempts  were  being  made  in  Holland 
to  exalt  Michigan  above  Iowa,  not  by  producing  sim- 
ple facts  but  by  giving  false  colors  to  affairs  and 
conditions,  he  never  undertook  to  detract  from  the 
strength  of  Michigan's  appeal,  gladly  admitting  that 
friends  who  wrote  from  that  State  were  quite  satis- 
fied with  their  choice. 

As  to  his  own  object  in  publishing  letters  about 
the  Pella  settlement  Scholte  said  that  he  desired  to 
give  a  short  but  truthful  account,  neither  colored  nor 
filled  with  a  description  of  the  wonders  of  Iowa. 
"Always  repelled  by  exaggerated  reports  from  Amer- 
ica", he  wrote,  "I  am  now  all  the  more  opposed  to 
them,  because  I  have  seen  the  tragic  results  of  such 


EARLY  PROMOTION  OF  IMMIGRATION         97 

excited  writings  in  the  miscalculations  and  disap- 
pointments of  our  people  upon  coming  face  to  face 
with  realities.  You  doubtless  must  have  read  many 
letters  which  revealed  a  picture  more  attractive,  more 
stimulating  to  the  emotions  than  mine;  but  I  feel 
obliged  to  tell  the  truth,  the  whole  truth,  and  noth- 
ing but  the  truth,  without  giving  it  a  color  of  my 
own.  I  shall  not  invite  you  to  leave  Holland  and 
come  to  us :  you  have  to  know  and  to  decide  that  for 
yourselves." 

Scholte  wrote  his  letter  of  March,  1848,  with  a 
view  to  attracting  the  attention  of  Holland's  wealthy 
Christians.  Thousands  of  oppressed  persons  wanted 
only  the  opportunity  to  make  a  living,  but  they 
lacked  the  means  necessary  to  pay  the  expense  of  a 
journey  to  America.  Scholte  therefore  called  upon 
the  rich  to  do  their  duty  —  to  help  the  poor  by  fur- 
nishing the  necessary  money  at  reasonable  interest, 
and  thus  enable  them  to  get  a  foothold  on  American 
soil. 

In  November,  1848,  appeared  Scholte 's  second 
letter  from  Pella,  with  contents  just  as  interesting 
and  encouraging  as  those  of  his  first  pamphlet.  But 
the  people  of  Holland  were  frankly  warned  not  to  be 
unduly  influenced  by  what  he  wrote:  they  were 
urged  to  come  of  their  own  accord,  upon  genuine 
reasonable  grounds  and  without  unreasonable  antic- 
ipations —  for  in  the  latter  case  they  would  be  dis- 
appointed like  certain  mischief-making  persons  who, 
after  leaving  Pella,  had  settled  in  St.  Louis  and  there 


98  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

advised  all  newcomers  from  Holland  to  go  to  Michi- 
gan.93 

Scholte  chronicled  the  arrival  of  many  families  at 
Pella.  They  had  experienced  all  sorts  of  tempta- 
tions and  allurements  before  they  finally  reached 
Iowa.  At  New  York  and  other  places,  such  as  Buf- 
falo, they  met  persons  who  did  their  utmost  to  fright- 
en all  Hollanders  away  from  Iowa  and  to  lure  them 
to  Michigan.  This  policy  was  pursued  not  only  by 
men  directly  interested  in  the  Michigan  colony,  but 
also  by  the  agents  of  speculators  in  that  State  who 
held  vast  areas  of  land  for  sale.  These  speculators, 
finding  themselves  unable  to  sell  to  Americans,  tried 
in  every  possible  way  to  induce  foreigners  to  settle 
in  Michigan,  hoping  thus  to  increase  the  value  of  their 
own  lands. 

Somebody  advised  Scholte  to  station  an  agent  at 
New  York  in  order  that  he  might  better  spread  relia- 
ble information  among  incoming  Hollanders,  but  he 
made  this  characteristic  reply:  "I  could  not  decide 
upon  such  a  practice,  because  I  was  firmly  convinced 
that  the  growth  of  our  Colony  was  not  dependent 
upon  the  efforts  of  human  beings,  that  I  had  given 
sufficient  information  in  Holland  about  our  Colony, 
and  therefore  I  would  leave  the  rest  to  God's  guid- 
ance." Scholte,  therefore,  contented  himself  with 
giving  a  short  account  of  the  social,  political,  and 
religious  conditions  at  Pella,  general  information 
relative  to  the  journey  to  America,  advice  as  to  what 
might  be  brought  from  Holland,  a  statement  of  the 


EARLY  PROMOTION  OF  IMMIGRATION         99 

prices  of  lots  at  Amsterdam  and  Pella,  and  a  sum- 
mary of  the  routes  leading  to  Iowa. 

Hollanders  of  that  day  were  recommended  to  take 
the  easiest  and  cheapest  route  direct  to  New  Orleans 
during  the  spring  or  autumn ;  or,  upon  arriving  at 
New  York  they  could  take  a  steamboat  to  New  Or- 
leans and  another  up  the  Mississippi  River  to  St. 
Louis,  whence  they  could  proceed  to  Keokuk, 
Iowa.  The  most  advantageous  overland  route  lay 
from  New  York  to  Buffalo,  Erie,  Beaver,  Cincinnati, 
and  St.  Louis.  It  was  also  possible  to  go  by  way  of 
Buffalo,  Chicago,  and  the  Illinois  River.  During 
the  summer  of  1848  a  railroad  was  completed  be- 
tween Sandusky  and  Cincinnati  so  that  homeseekers 
could  travel  by  steam  all  the  way  from  New  York  to 
St.  Louis.94 

The  Governor  of  Michigan  at  this  time  urged  that 
everything  possible  be  done  by  the  State  legislature 
to  extend  to  the  colony  of  Hollanders  not  only  tokens 
of  welcome  and  encouragement  but  also  evidences  of 
the  State's  fostering  care.  Much  was  thus  done  to 
direct  immigration  to  Michigan.  Iowa,  the  youngest 
State  in  the  Union,  made  no  organized  effort  to  at- 
tract settlers  to  her  vacant  lands  until  many  years 
later,  though  the  General  Assembly  did  not  hesitate 
to  make  a  concession  similar  to  that  made  by  Michi- 
gan, allowing  the  Hollanders  a  township  organiza- 
tion of  their  own.95 

Newspaper  men  in  Holland,  favorable  to  the  gov- 
ernment of  their  day,  were  not  ashamed  to  publish 
articles  in  which  emigrants  to  America  were  placed 


100  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

in  a  false  light,  while  certain  Christian  people  of  Hol- 
land are  said  not  to  have  refrained  from  creating  a 
wrong  impression  as  to  the  character  of  the  people 
who  were  emigrating.  Despite  all  attempts  to  stop 
the  movement  toward  America,  the  time  for  emigra- 
tion was  ripe,  and  every  year  since  1847  Hollanders 
have  emigrated  to  Iowa. 


XV 

TWENTY- FIVE  YEAES  OF  DUTCH  IMMIGRA- 
TION TO  IOWA 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1848  most  of  those  who  had 
been  left  to  spend  the  first  winter  at  St.  Louis  took 
leave  of  their  generous  American  friends,  engaged 
passage  on  a  steamboat  to  Keokuk,  and  after  spend- 
ing nearly  three  weeks  on  the  way,  owing  to  heavy 
rains  and  impassable  roads,  joined  their  fellow-coun- 
trymen at  Pell  a.  During  those  first  years  the  Pella 
colonists  exerted  every  effort  to  procure  the  trans- 
portation from  Holland  of  all  the  members  of  the  as- 
sociation formed  at  Utrecht,  and  they  succeeded  in 
inducing  many  to  leave  the  fatherland  during  the 
years  1848  and  1849  —  some  coming  direct  to  Iowa, 
others  stopping  for  a  time  at  St.  Louis.96 

For  the  year  1849  there  were  recorded  the  names 
of  two  hundred  and  fifty  Dutch  immigrants  who  later 
settled  in  Iowa.  They  suffered  the  same  hardships 
as  their  predecessors  on  the  six  weeks'  ocean  voyage, 
one  man  losing  three  children  by  death  before  he 
could  reach  Iowa.  Many  of  the  immigrants  did  not 
come  straightway  to  Pella,  but  broke  the  journey  by 
tarrying  in  eastern  States.  Very  many  of  them  were 
persons  of  wealth  and  education,  accustomed  to  lead- 
ership in  Holland.    Cordially  welcomed  to  the  modest 

101 


102  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

Pella  homes  they  began  life  in  the  West  with  a  degree 
of  comfort  unknown  to  the  first  comers  of  two  years 
before.  These  immigrants  were  a  desirable  addition 
because  they  brought  the  capital  which  alone  could 
assure  further  progress  in  the  colony.  The  years 
1850,  1851,  and  1852  brought  very  few  Hollanders  to 
Pella.  The  national  census  figures  for  1850  gave 
practically  all1  the  Holland-born  inhabitants  of  Iowa, 
1108  in  number,  to  Lake  Prairie  Township  in  Marion 
County.97 

Especially  noteworthy  in  the  history  of  immigra- 
tion to  nearly  every  part  of  Iowa  were  the  years  im- 
mediately following  1852.  This  is  true  also  of  Pella 
and  vicinity,  since  the  largest  accessions  to  the  Hol- 
land-born population  of  Pella  were  recorded  during 
that  period.  In  1853  and  1854  there  came  nearly  100 
and  250  Hollanders,  respectively,  while  the  names  of 
270  persons  were  added  to  the  list  during  the  year 
1855,  330  in  1856,  and  135  in  1857. 

In  the  month  of  May,  1856,  Scholte  expressed  him- 
self as  follows  on  the  subject  of  immigration : 

We  had  this  week  a  good  addition  to  our  population  by 
emigration  from  Holland.  Able-bodied  men  and  healthy 
women  and  children  have  arrived  with  the  intention  of  mak- 
ing Pella  and  the  surrounding  country  their  home.  The 
majority  are  not  rich,  in  money,  nor  do  they  come  out  of 
the  poor-houses  or  prisons  of  the  old  country.  They  are 
just  the  people  we  need,  rich  in  physical  power,  and  willing 
to  work  and  to  improve  the  country.  .  .  .  We  congratu- 
late the  State  of  Iowa  upon  such  additions  to  their  popula- 
tion.    A  large  proportion  of  the  inhabitants  of  Pella  and 


TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS  OF  IMMIGRATION     103 


Lake  Prairie  Township  are  foreigners  by  birth  .... 
but  you  will  hardly  find  a  place  less  obnoxious  to  a  decent 
American-born  citizen.  More  emigrants  are  on  the  road 
from  Holland  to  Pella.  Americans  from  older  States,  too, 
seem  to  have  some  preference  for  this  part  of  the  State,  and 
are  investing  their  money  in  real  estate  in  Pella  and  vicin- 
ity. We  are  very  well  pleased  with  our  share  in  the  immi- 
gration, which  materially  promotes  our  interests.  Not  only 
real  estate  is  rising  moderately,  but  every  kind  of  business 
is  increasing,  and  we  have  no  doubt  but  eastern  merchants 
are  already  convinced  that  it  is  not  unimportant  to  have 
connections  with  Pella. 

A  glance  at  the  census  returns  for  1856  reveals  a 
foreign-born  population  of  2119  Hollanders  in  thirty- 
one  counties  of  Iowa.  It  is  of  passing  interest  to 
note  that  the  cities  of  Burlington  and  Dubuque  con- 
tained about  twenty-five  Hollanders  each ;  that  Peru 
Township  north  of  Dubuque  had  thirty-seven ;  while 
Keokuk,  the  "Gate  City  of  Iowa",  had  almost  one 
hundred  and  fifty.  Fourteen  hundred  and  eighty  in- 
habitants of  Lake  Prairie  Township  told  the  census 
enumerator  that  their  birthplace  was  "The  Nether- 
lands", while  forty-four  answered  that  their  birth- 
place was  "Friesland"  (a  province  of  The  Nether- 
lands) .  This  reply  may  be  taken  as  characteristic  of 
"De  Vrije  Vries"  (the  free  Frieslander),  for  he  has 
always  shown  a  strong  feeling  of  national  pride  and 
independence.  Ever  since  that  day  a  neighborhood 
northwest  of  Pella  in  Summit  Township  has  been 
called  "De  Vriesche  Buurt". 

As  early  as  the  year  1856  the  Dutch  immigrants 


104  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

had  begun  to  find  the  original  place  of  settlement, 
Lake  Prairie  Township,  too  small  for  their  accommo- 
dation. Many  were  forced  to  locate  in  the  townships 
immediately  to  the  westward,  either  as  independent 
farmers  or  as  hired  men  and  domestics  on  the  farms 
of  American  settlers.  Not  only  did  this  advance 
spread  westward  in  Marion  County,  but  it  also  ex- 
tended eastward  into  Black  Oak  Township  of  Mahas- 
ka County,  where  dwelt  about  ninety  Holland-born 
settlers.  Southeast  of  Marion  lay  Wapello  County, 
where  the  census  returns  gave  Green  and  Columbia 
townships  twelve  and  seventeen  Hollanders  respec- 
tively. It  will  thus  be  seen  that  the  Dutch  were 
securing  a  foot-hold  not  only  in  Iowa's  larger  east- 
ern cities,  but  also  in  townships  adjacent  to  the  site 
of  the  original  settlement.98 

New  accessions  to  the  Pella  colony  for  several 
years  after  1858  were  almost  negligible.  The  Dutch 
chronicler  preserved  the  names  of  only  30  persons  for 
the  three  years  1858-1860,  and  recorded  the  arrival  of 
only  71  newcomers  during  the  years  of  the  Civil  War. 
The  United  States  census  returns  for  1860  gave  Iowa 
2615  Holland-born  inhabitants.  When  peace  had 
been  restored,  immigration  revived  and  44  Holland- 
ers came  in  1866,  69  in  1867,  53  in  1868,  115  in  1869, 
67  in  1870,  46  in  1871,  and  7  in  1872. 

According  to  the  United  States  Census  for  1870 
thirty-five  Iowa  counties  contained  no  foreign-born 
Dutch,  forty-one  of  the  remainder  had  less  than  fif- 
teen each,  and  twenty-three  had  more  than  fifteen. 
Benton  County  had  29  Hollanders,  Butler  21,  Du- 


TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS  OF  IMMIGRATION     105 

buque  111,  Grundy  56,  Hardin  46,  Humboldt  44,  Jack- 
son 746,  Jasper  33,  Jefferson  38,  Lee  258,  Mahaska 
318,  Marion  2077,  Muscatine  185,  Plymouth  15,  Polk 
21,  Pottawattamie  16,  Scott  46,  Sioux  133,  and  Wa- 
pello 55.  The  number  in  Dubuque  County  had  in- 
creased since  1856,  as  had  also  been  the  case  in  Lee 
County.  But  especially  significant  were  the  increases 
in  Jasper  and  Mahaska  counties  to  the  north  and  east 
of  Marion  County.  Plymouth  and  Sioux,  adjacent 
counties  in  northwestern  Iowa,  now  showed  a  Dutch 
population  for  the  first  time.  The  number  in  Wapel- 
lo County  had  also  increased,  while  the  number  as- 
cribed to  Jackson  County  can  not  be  accounted  for. 
Lake  Prairie  Township  in  Marion  County  contained 
a  Holland-born  population  of  1892 ;  while  a  majority 
of  the  3066  native-born  inhabitants  were  Dutch  by 
descent.  One-tenth  of  the  foreign-born  Dutch  in  the 
United  States  in  1870,  or  a  total  number  of  4513, 
lived  in  the  State  of  Iowa." 


XVI 

PROSPERITY  AT  PELLA 

The  years  of  the  decade  from  1850  to  1860  were  years 
of  prosperous  trade  conditions  in  the  Pella  colony. 
With  an  abundance  of  work,  high  wages,  and  good 
prices  for  produce,  few  people  complained  of  poverty. 
Townspeople  and  farmers,  all  began  to  realize  profits 
from  their  investments  after  many  years  of  waiting. 
From  year  to  year  the  city  of  Pella  spread  out  in 
every  direction.  Although  unfamiliar  at  first  with 
the  soil  and  with  American  agricultural  implements 
and  unused  to  the  severity  of  the  climate,  Dutch  far- 
mers by  their  zeal  and  industry  rapidly  attained  to  a 
prosperity  such  as  they  never  could  have  achieved  in 
The  Netherlands.  In  meager  circumstances  when 
they  left  Holland,  many  became  in  America  men  of 
considerable  wealth.100 

Pella,  however,  was  not  destined  to  remain  a  place 
of  settlement  for  the  Dutch  alone.  A  German  with 
his  family  accompanied  the  Hollanders  from  St. 
Louis  in  1847  and  at  once  engaged  in  business.  He 
was  followed  by  other  enterprising  Germans,  many 
of  whom  as  business  men  played  a  noteworthy  part 
in  improving  and  building  up  the  city.  Moreover, 
a  few  French  families  came  to  Pella.101 

One  of  the  greatest  boons  to  the  city  was  the  de- 

106 


PROSPERITY  AT  PELLA  107 

cision  of  the  Iowa  Baptists  in  1353  to  found  a  college 
in  Pella.  Central  University,  as  it  was  called,  at- 
tracted numerous  families  of  Americans.  Indeed, 
by  the  year  1860  so  many  Americans  had  found 
homes  at  Pella  that  the  population  of  the  city  was 
about  evenly  divided  between  Dutch  and  Ameri- 
cans.102 

Not  all  the  original  American  settlers  of  Lake 
Prairie  Township  sold  their  claims  to  the  Hollanders 
in  1847.  A  number,  moreover,  remained  in  adjoin- 
ing townships  until  they  sold  out  to  newcomers  from 
Holland,  when  they  entered  business  life  in  Pella. 
The  Hollanders  were  thus  enabled  to  come  into  close 
relations  with  American  farmers  and  American  busi- 
ness men  — ■  neighbors  who  gave  generously  of  their 
store  of  knowledge  gained  from  years  of  experience 
in  pioneer  methods  and  ways.  Many  American 
farmers  gladly  furnished  lodging  to  those  of  the  first 
immigrants  who  needed  it,  and  many  Hollanders  by 
working  as  hired  men  for  Americans  obtained  an 
acquaintance  with  the  methods  of  American  agricul- 
ture which  stood  them  in  good  stead  when  they  be- 
gan farming  for  themselves.  The  names  of  the  origi- 
nal American  settlers  were  long  held  in  grateful  re- 
membrance among  the  first  Dutch  pioneers.103 

In  1856  certain  letters  were  written  in  Dutch  on 
"The  Hollanders  in  Iowa".  They  contained  a  very 
complete  account  of  the  resources  and  condition  of 
Iowa,  and  were  apparently  intended  to  attract  emi- 
grants from  Holland  by  giving  them  to  understand 
just  what  sort  of  a  State  Iowa  was.     The  writer, 


108  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

whose  name  bas  always  been  shrouded  in  mystery, 
described  Pel  la  in  1856,  informed  his  fellow-coun- 
trymen about  the  progress  of  the  youthful  Dutch 
colony,  and  assured  them  that  in  America  more  than 
anywhere  else  in  the  world  every  man  could  find 
work  to  match  his  talents  and  enjoy  life  according 
to  his  industry:  employment  was  open  and  inviting 
in  every  branch  of  activity,  and  agriculture  was  re- 
munerative and  profitable.  He  showed  the  certainty 
of  reward  which  had  attended  the  efforts  of  indus- 
trious Dutch  immigrants  in  a  fertile  country  where 
land  was  abundant  and  therefore  cheap,  and  where 
the  wealth,  dignity,  and  power  of  the  government 
were  based  upon  the  prosperity  of  the  people. 

Pella  resembled  all  the  towns  of  this  western  wil- 
derness for  many  years  and  had  no  easy  time  estab- 
lishing and  maintaining  physical  orderliness. 
Scholte  's  English  garden  was  famous  throughout  the 
countryside  for  its  beauty,  and  people  came  miles  to 
see  it.  His  walnut  grove  became  the  place  where  an- 
nual old  settlers'  reunions  were  held.  Garden 
Square  with  its  pretty  shade  trees  was  also  attrac- 
tive ;  but  in  general  the  log  cabin  or  frontier  stage  of 
society  prevailed  for  many  years  among  the  Dutch 
settlers  in  both  town  and  country.  It  has  been  well 
said  that  "nature's  ways  are  different  from  man's 
ways ;  she  is  reluctant  to  submit  to  his  control ;  she 
does  not  like  to  have  her  hair  trimmed  and  her  gar- 
ments confined;  she  even  communicates  to  man,  in 
his  first  struggles  with  her,  a  little  of  her  own  care- 


PROSPERITY  AT  PELLA  109 

lessness,  her  own  apparently  reckless  and  wasteful 
way  of  doing  thing's." 

In  1855  Johnson  County  and  Iowa  City  were  con- 
gratulated at  Pella  for  having  taken  the  commend- 
able step  of  voting  in  favor  of  a  "hog  law",  whereby 
owners  were  compelled  to  keep  their  hogs  locked  up 
or  run  the  risk  of  seeing  them  impounded.  An  edi- 
tor at  Pella  bemoaned  the  fact  that  Marion  County 
had  no  such  law  and  that  Pella  was  not  incorporated 
as  a  city,  and  added:  "It  is  a  great  drawback  to 
this  and  other  inland  towns  that  stock  of  all  kinds 
throng  the  streets,  giving  the  town  limits  the  appear- 
ance of  a  monstrous  stock  farm."  One  year  later 
the  same  writer  made  the  following  announcement : 
"The  only  corporate  building  is  a  hog  pen,  in  the 
western  part  of  the  city,  for  the  use  of  the  City  Mar- 
shal, to  shut  up  the  snoring  and  grumbling  loafers 
about  town." 

The  "Gelderschman"  author  of  the  letters  of 
1856  explained  how  the  Hollanders  had  grown  pros- 
perous in  farming  and  business  in  America  and  re- 
ferred to  the  recent  growth  of  population.  He  told 
of  the  incorporation  of  the  city  of  Pella  and  of  the 
first  election  of  city  officers  —  all  of  whom  were 
Dutch  except  the  mayor  and  three  councilmen.  A 
German  was  then  justice  of  the  peace ;  an  American 
and  two  Hollanders,  Scholte  and  Henry  Hospers, 
were  notaries  public;  and  a  Hollander  was  post- 
master. 

In  1856  Pella  prided  herself  on  three  church  con- 
gregations —  Baptist,  Methodist,  and  Christian  Re- 


110  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

formed.  Poor-house  there  was  none.  The  Pella  Ga- 
zette was  edited  and  published  by  Scholte  and  Edwin 
H.  Grant.  Americans  owned  the  hotels.  Of  the  doc- 
tors, three  were  Americans  and  two  were  Hollanders. 
Druggists  were  evenly  divided  between  the  two. 
Nine  out  of  fourteen  stores  and  four  out  of  seven 
blacksmith  shops  were  Dutch-owned  ;  while  Germans 
monopolized  the  hardware  business.  Besides  ordi- 
nary artisans  there  were  two  Dutch  wagon-makers, 
three  coopers,  several  wooden-shoe-makers, while  car- 
penters were  legion.  Pella  also  claimed  several  saw- 
mills, three  on  the  Des  Moines  River,  two  near  Pella, 
and  one  on  the  Skunk  River.  Two  new  corn-mills 
now  relieved  farmers  from  hauling  their  loads  long 
distances.  Three  brick-kilns  and  two  lime-kilns  were 
also  mentioned,  and  in  conclusion  the  writer  said  of 
Pella:  "We  pride  ourselves  on  not  having  those 
pest-holes,  saloons,  in  our  midst." 

About  this  time  a  citizen  of  Pella,  looking  back 
over  the  years  since  the  Hollanders  had  come  to 
Iowa,  wrote  these  lines : 

About  eight  years  ago  the  spot  where  I  am  now  sitting 
down  to  write  appertained  to  a  farm,  then  occupying  a  por- 
tion of  the  place  where  Pella  now  stands.  How  different 
the  appearance  of  the  surroundingcountryat  that  timefrom 
what  it  is  now !  Then  two  poor  log  houses  might  be  seen  on 
the  ground  which  constitutes  the  town  of  Pella.  The  great- 
est part  of  the  surrounding  prairie  was  lying  waste,  with 
only  here  and  there  a  solitary  farm,  established  by  some  of 
the  first  pioneers  who  settled  in  the  center  of  the  State. 
Now  here  is  our  flourishing  town,  favored  with  a  pictur- 


PROSPERITY  AT  PELLA  111 

esque  and  promising  situation,  and  vieing  in  population, 
prosperity,  and  above  all,  in  neatness,  with  the  most  thriv- 
ing places  of  Central  Iowa. 

The  time  when  we  had  to  be  satisfied  with  the  mere  ne- 
cessities of  life  is  gone.  Our  dwellings  have  ceased  to  be 
subservient  to  the  single  purpose  of  sheltering  us  from  the 
inclemency  of  the  weather,  and  both  the  outward  and  in- 
ward appearance  of  many  of  them  bears  the  marks  of  re- 
fined taste. 

Furniture,  suited  to  the  wants  of  refined  civilization,  is 
taking  the  place  of  the  simple  necessaries,  which  were  used 
in  the  first  stage  of  a  new  settlement,  and  our  stores  fur- 
nish us  not  only  with  the  comforts,  but  also  with  the  luxu- 
ries of  life. 

Those  of  our  citizens  who  are  afflicted  with  sickness,  can 
obtain  anything  that  is  capable  of  relieving  their  pain  in 
two  thriving  drug-stores,  and  such  as  are  thirsty  for  knowl- 
edge may  gratify  their  taste  by  calling  at  as  many  book 
stores  and  a  public  library. 

The  Preparatory  Department  of  a  University,  which  is 
being  established  by  the  commendable  efforts  of  some  of  our 
most  worthy  citizens,  offers  a  chance  for  thorough  educa- 
tion in  the  various  branches  of  science,  and,  to  crown  the 
whole,  a  paper,  favored  with  an  extensive  patronage,  an- 
nounces the  results  of  our  enterprises,  advocates  our  inter- 
ests, and  guides  our  endeavors  to  improve  our  social  and 
moral  conditions. 

It  is  no  less  gratifying  to  cast  a  glance  at  the  lands 
which  surround  our  town.  The  country,  which  is  spread 
out  before  my  window,  and  which  eight  years  ago  exhibited 
nothing  but  one  monotonous  green  plot,  now  presents  a 
lovely  and  motley  mixture  of  houses  of  every  description, 
fences,  trees,  shocks  of  corn,  hay-stacks,  green  and  open 


112  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

fields.  In  every  direction  your  eye  perceives  the  richest 
farms,  and  where  the  prairie  has  not  been  cultivated  yet, 
you  are  pleased  to  see  herds  of  the  finest  cattle  finding 
abundant  food  in  the  grasses  and  herbs  which  our  fertile 
soil  produces  spontaneously.  Nor  need  we  limit  our  atten- 
tion to  agriculture,  for  our  stone  quarries  and  coal  mines 
are  worked  extensively,  and  several  steam  saw-mills,  brick- 
yards and  lime-kilns  testify  the  enterprising  spirit  of  our 
population. 

A  man  who  visited  this  country  eight  years  ago  and  sees 
it  again  in  its  present  state,  must  expect  to  see  a  fairy  [tale] 
realized,  and  the  rapid  growth  of  our  Western  towns  al- 
most seems  a  miracle  to  the  native  of  Europe,  where  the  age 
of  villages  and  cities  is  counted,  not  by  years,  but  by  cen- 
turies.104 

That  Pella  was  not  an  out-of-the-way  place  was 
further  shown  by  the  fact  that  Pella  lay  on  the  stage 
route  from  Burlington  via  Fort  Des  Moines  to  Coun- 
cil Bluffs.  But  the  Western  Stage  Company  did  not 
serve  the  public  acceptably  as  is  evident  from  the 
country  editor's  complaint: 

We  notice  with  pleasure  that  considerable  additions  have 
been  recently  made  to  the  stock  on  this  road.  They  have 
been  needed  badly.  For  some  time  past  the  station  between 
this  place  and  Oskaloosa  has  been  abolished,  making  a  drive 
of  eighteen  miles.  And  in  the  other  direction,  they  are  said 
to  frequently  run  twenty-four  miles  without  changing. 
This  will  wear  out  stock  very  fast,  and  the  increased 
amount  of  travel  demands  better  accommodations.  Eight 
new  teams  and  three  stages  passed  through  this  place,  a 
day  or  two  since,  which  will  relieve  that  difficulty  mate- 
rially. 


PROSPERITY  AT  PELLA  113 

But  even  so  the  editor  had  no  kind  words  for 
stage  coaches  in  which,  he  asserted,  "a  man  can 
neither  stand,  nor  sit,  nor  lie  down,  but  in  which  his 
body  is  squeezed  and  distorted  into  the  most  un- 
natural attitudes ;  which  have  windows  too  small  to 
look  out  of  them  in  the  daytime,  and  just  enough 
chinks  and  apertures  to  let  in  the  cold,  damp  air  at 
night,  and  which  —  laying  claim  to  speed  —  travel 
at  the  rate  of  four  miles  an  hour. ' ' 

Improvement  of  the  Des  Moines  River  channel 
proved  to  be  an  empty  dream.  The  stormy  career  of 
this  wonderful  project  having  come  to  an  end,  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  State  of  Iowa  in  1853  ap- 
propriated an  extensive  area  of  land  in  the  Des 
Moines  valley  for  the  construction  of  a  railroad. 
Railroad  construction  in  Iowa  was  very  much  re- 
tarded by  the  panic  of  1857  and  the  Civil  War.  By 
the  month  of  August,  1859,  the  Burlington  and  Mis- 
souri River  Railroad  reached  Ottumwa,  forty-three 
miles  from  Pella ;  but  it  was  not  until  the  month  of 
January,  1865,  that  the  first  locomotive  on  the  Des 
Moines  Valley  Railroad  appeared  in  Pella,  though 
the  hopes  of  Pella 's  citizens  had  been  raised  to  a 
high  pitch  many  times  before  when  surveying  parties 
mapped  out  the  route. 

Much  jubilation  prevailed  among  the  Hollanders 
when  Pella  secured  a  railroad  connection  with  east- 
ern markets,  because  business  men  had  for  years  de- 
pended on  the  hauling  of  goods  from  Keokuk  with  ox 
or  mule  or  horse  teams.  The  completion  of  a  rail- 
road  through   Pella   to   Des   Moines   in   1866   was 


114  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

placed  to  the  credit  of  enterprising  Keokuk  citizens. 
People  of  the  surrounding  country  came  from  far 
and  near  to  sell  their  produce  and  buy  necessities  or 
luxuries  in  Pella,  until  Knoxville  welcomed  its  rail- 
road in  1875.  Then  business  fell  off  to  some  extent ; 
but  the  Hollanders  of  Pella  and  vicinity  were  gener- 
ally satisfied,  because  their  lands  and  property  had 
more  than  doubled  in  value. 

For  a  quarter  of  a  century  the  Hollanders  had 
lived  and  worked  together  in  Iowa.  They  had  assimi- 
lated much  that  was  American ;  but  throughout  they 
retained  their  qualities  of  thrift  and  industry.  Holi- 
days and  festive  occasions  in  which  all  participated 
had  been  few.  To  be  sure  they  honored  the  Fourth 
of  July,  but  not  without  the  singing  of  Psalms.  Dur- 
ing the  winter,  like  true  sons  of  Holland,  they  en- 
joyed skating  races  for  prizes  on  the  lake  near  Am- 
sterdam. When  the  month  of  August,  1872,  arrived, 
the  pioneers  of  Pella  made  preparations  for  a  jubilee 
celebration.  On  the  morning  of  the  28th  of  August 
they  assembled  at  church,  engaged  in  prayer,  joined 
in  the  singing  of  Psalms,  listened  to  addresses  of  a 
historical  nature,  and  then  sat  down  to  a  big  church 
dinner,  which  was  followed  by  choir  music  and  more 
addresses  in  the  afternoon.  Such  was  the  quiet  ob- 
servance of  the  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the  com- 
ing of  the  Hollanders  to  Iowa.105 


XVII 

ENCOURAGEMENT  OF  DUTCH  IMMIGRATION 
BY  THE  STATE 

It  is  a  fact  peculiar  to  later  American  history  that 
most  western  States  have  taken  a  more  or  less  active 
part  in  promoting  immigration  to  land  within  their 
borders.  Legislatures  have  repeatedly  provided  for 
the  machinery  necessary  to  advertise  the  resources 
of  their  respective  States  in  order  to  enhance  local 
prosperity  by  inducing  homeseekers  to  invest  their 
capital  and  lives  in  unused  lands.  Except  for  a  few 
years  the  State  of  Iowa  seems  never  to  have  taken  a 
keen  interest  in  the  dissemination  of  printed  infor- 
mation relative  to  its  excellent  natural  advantages. 
Only  once  was  provision  made  for  the  circulation  of 
advertising  material  in  foreign  countries,  and  yet 
Iowa  could  not  complain  that  her  lands  were  too 
slowly  occupied  by  settlers,  whether  from  the  east- 
ern States  or  from  Europe. 

The  bulk  of  the  population  of  Iowa  in  1880  was 
American-born.  About  one-half  of  the  inhabitants 
were  born  within  the  State,  while  the  other  half  con- 
sisted chiefly  of  natives  of  Ohio,  Illinois,  New  York, 
Pennsylvania,  Indiana,  Wisconsin,  Missouri,  Vir- 
ginia, and  Kentucky.  Foreign-born  inhabitants  com- 
posed about  one-fifth  of  the  entire  population.    These 

115 


116  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

facts  are  cited  to  show  that  Iowa  was  probably  con- 
tent with  the  immigration  of  native  Americans  and 
probably  preferred  not  to  enter  into  competition 
with  other  States  for  the  attention  of  foreigners. 

Although  Iowa  as  a  State  failed  to  encourage  im- 
migration, other  agencies  such  as  railroad  corpora- 
tions, land  companies,  and  speculators  more  than  did 
their  part  to  advertise  the  State ;  but  the  operations 
of  these  agencies  were  restricted  as  a  rule  to  the 
United  States  and  English-speaking  countries,  where 
they  were  largely  successful.  During  the  years  of 
the  Territorial  period  and  the  early  years  of  State- 
hood the  promotion  of  immigration  was  left  entirely 
to  private  enterprise. 

Chief  among  the  factors  which  attracted  the  at- 
tention of  Hollanders  to  Iowa  were  two  pamphlets 
written  by  Scholte,  the  founder  of  the  Pella  colony. 
That  these  interesting  but  true  accounts  of  Pella 
were  widely  sold  and  read  in  Holland  can  not  be 
said  with  certainty,  but  prospective  Dutch  emigrants 
who  were  at  all  interested  in  Scholte 's  leadership  of 
the  Separatist  movement  in  Holland  must  have  eager- 
ly looked  for  his  letters.  Pella  colonists  also  report- 
ed their  experiences  to  friends  and  relatives  in  Hol- 
land, and  no  doubt  urged  many  to  emigrate  to  Iowa. 
For  instance,  Sjoerd  Aukes  Sipma  had  his  "Impor- 
tant Keports  from  Pella"  published  at  Dokkum, 
Friesland,  in  1849. 

The  Dutch  booklet  on  Iowa  and  Pella,  published 
in  1858,  must  also  have  exerted  considerable  influ- 
ence on  the  emigration  movement  in  Holland,  though 


ENCOURAGEMENT  OF  IMMIGRATION        117 

the  writer  denied  any  intention  to  make  Iowa  appear 
preferable  to  any  other  part  of  the  United  States. 
"No,  people  of  Holland,"  he  declared,  "Pella  need 
not  offer  the  slightest  inducement  to  lure  you  within 
her  borders.  Year  after  year  a  respectable  host  of 
Hollanders  as  well  as  Americans  enters  unsummoned 
and  uninvited,  and  all  without  the  usual  advertise- 
ments generally  scattered  around  America  by  land 
speculators  and  others.  Unlike  her  sister  colonies  in 
Michigan  and  Wisconsin,  Pella  has  no  agents  in  New 
York  and  other  ports  to  attract  emigrants  by  means 
of  fine-sounding  descriptions.  .  .  .  The  man 
who  is  interested  in  land  has  only  to  consider  how 
land  has  risen  in  value  here ;  the  laborer,  how  many 
hands  are  busy  here;  yet  this  does  not  mean  that 
both  can  not  still  find  work  with  profit. ' ' 

The  "Gelderschman"  who  published  his  letters 
in  1858  declared  to  the  people  of  Holland  that  much 
opportunity  still  existed  for  the  establishment  of 
other  Dutch  colonies  in  northeastern  and  northwest- 
ern Iowa,  where  the  State  was  less  thickly  populated 
than  in  Marion  County.  He  suggested  that  an  asso- 
ciation be  formed  in  Holland  to  arrange  with  trust- 
worthy persons  in  Iowa  or  Pella  as  to  the  place  of 
settlement.  "Pella  acquaintances  could  be  of  the 
greatest  use",  he  said,  "since  they  are  thoroughly 
familiar  with  the  best  way  to  establish  such  a  colony 
and  select  the  finest  lands,  and  also  know  where  gov- 
ernment land  can  still  be  secured."  For  such  a  set- 
tlement the  best  prospects  were  opened.     The  ap- 


118  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

peal,  however,  went  unheeded  for  it  proved  to  be 
premature.100 

In  1856  the  Iowa  House  of  Representatives 
adopted  a  resolution,  not  without  Republican  oppo- 
sition, that  five  hundred  copies  of  Governor  Grimes's 
biennial  message  be  printed  "in  the  Holland  lan- 
guage for  the  use  of  the  House".  In  1858,  several 
thousand  copies  of  the  Governor's  message  and  of 
the  inaugural  address  were  ordered  printed  in  the 
English  language,  about  two  thousand  in  the  German 
language,  and  five  hundred  in  the  Dutch  language, 
while  the  Norwegian  language  was  slighted.  In  1860 
also,  and  biennially  thereafter  until  1870,  one  thou- 
sand copies  of  the  Governor's  message  and  address 
were  ordered  to  be  printed  in  Dutch.  A  further 
resolution  was  passed  to  the  effect  that  "H.  P. 
Scholte  be  employed  to  translate  and  superintend  the 
printing";  while  one  month  later  the  same  house  re- 
solved that  Scholte  be  required  to  report  "whether 
he  has  translated  said  message,  and  printed  the 
same,  and  if  so,  why  they  are  not  placed  upon  the 
members'  desks  for  distribution." 

Though  these  messages  and  inaugural  addresses 
of  the  Governors  were  printed  ostensibly  for  the  use 
of  the  legislators  themselves,  they  were  intended  pri- 
marily for  gratuitous  distribution  among  the  Dutch 
inhabitants  of  the  State  and  for  further-  circulation 
in  other  Dutch-speaking  communities.  For  example, 
in  1862  Henry  Hospers  was  employed  to  translate 
the  Governor's  message  for  "publication  in  the  Hol- 
land paper  at  Pella,  provided  it  can  be  done  at  an 


ENCOURAGEMENT  OF  IMMIGRATION        119 

expense  not  to  exceed  $25."  Thus  the  Governor's 
resume  of  conditions  in  Iowa  could  be  widely  scat- 
tered and  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  foreigners  at 
home  and  abroad,  but  the  profit  therefrom  can  not 
have  been  far-reaching  as  a  means  of  promoting  im- 
migration.107 

During  the  first  three  or  four  decades  in  the  his- 
tory of  Iowa  the  State  made  a  poor  showing  in  the 
matter  of  attracting  immigrants  from  foreign  coun- 
tries when  compared  with  other  western  States.  In 
Wisconsin  laws  had  been  passed  authorizing  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  commissioner  of  immigration  to  re- 
side in  the  city  of  New  York  for  the  purpose  of 
giving  immigrants  necessary  information  relative  to 
soil,  climate,  and  branches  of  industry  to  be  pursued 
with  advantage,  and  to  protect  immigrants  as  far  as 
practicable  against  the  impositions  often  practiced 
upon  them. 

As  early  as  1852  and  1854  Governor  Stephen 
Hempstead  urged  the  legislature  of  Iowa  to  adopt 
Wisconsin's  attitude  towards  foreigners  who  might 
wish  to  become  citizens  of  Iowa.  He  deplored  the 
fact  that  some  Americans  perceived  danger  in  for- 
eign immigration,  declaring:  "They  are  generally 
industrious  —  purchase,  settle  upon  and  improve  our 
lands,  rear  their  homes,  educate  their  children  with 
ours,  become  attached  to  our  laws  and  institutions, 
and  assist  in  the  defence  of  the  country  in  times  of 
peril."108 

Not  until  1860,  while  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  sat  in 
the  Governor's  chair,  however,  did  the  State  of  Iowa 


120  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

give  its  official  sanction  to  the  appointment  of  an 
officer  to  reside  for  two  years  at  New  York  City  and 
thus  compete  with  other  western  States.  At  the  end 
of  his  term,  Lieutenant-Governor  Rusch,  the  first 
Immigrant  Commissioner  of  Iowa,  urged  in  his  re- 
port, which  was  accepted,  that  his  office  be  discon- 
tinued because  it  was  of  no  advantage  to  the  State. 
He  had  learned  that  most  immigrants  had  selected 
their  points  of  destination  before  landing  at  New 
York,  and  in  his  opinion,  the  only  way  to  inform  for- 
eigners of  the  resources  of  Iowa  was  to  reach  them 
before  they  left  Europe.  He  called  attention  to  the 
good  results  obtained  by  emigrant  companies  and  by 
the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  Company  through 
agents  in  Europe,  without  expense  to  the  State  of 
Illinois.  He  added,  furthermore,  that  foreigners 
needed  no  State  commissioners  to  protect  them  from 
fraud  because  the  New  York  State  authorities  had 
found  impositions  and  robberies  so  numerous  and 
unbearable  that  a  landing-place  for  all  aliens  had 
been  established  at  Castle  Garden,  and  from  this 
landing  all  agents  and  runners  were  strictly  ex- 
cluded.109 

In  his  biennial  message  of  1870  Governor  Merrill 
recommended  that  something  be  done  to  diffuse  in- 
formation relative  to  Iowa  in  foreign  countries,  as 
neighboring  States  had  systematically  and  success- 
fully done  for  many  years.  A  Board  of  Immigration 
of  six  members,  two  of  whom,  E.  Mumm  of  Keokuk 
and  C.  Rhynsburger  of  Pella,  were  Hollanders,  was 
accordingly  created  "to  do  all,  and  everything,  which 


ENCOURAGEMENT  OF  IMMIGRATION        121 

may  and  will  enhance  and  encourage  immigration" 
to  Iowa.  This  board  through  its  secretary  prepared 
a  pamphlet  of  ninety-six  pages  entitled  ''Iowa:  The 
Home  for  Immigrants",  which  was  translated  into 
the  German,  Danish,  Dutch,  and  Swedish  languages. 
Five  thousand  copies  were  printed  in  Dutch. 

The  board  commissioned  five  men  to  act  as 
agents  in  Europe  —  among  them  Henry  Hospers, 
Mayor  of  Pella.  The  latter  went  to  Holland  late  in 
the  year  1870,  and  for  over  two  months  put  forth  his 
best  efforts  to  aid,  promote,  and  advise  immigration 
to  the  State  of  Iowa.  When  he  returned  to  America, 
the  board  appointed  a  reliable  resident  agent  in  Hol- 
land to  distribute  documents  and  promote  the  wel- 
fare of  emigrants  generally.  Thus  for  the  first  time 
Iowa  was  competing  on  equal  terms  with  her  sister 
States  for  a  share  of  European  emigration.110 


XVIII 

A  BEE-HIVE  READY  FOE  SWARMING 

"Pella  and  vicinity  already  [in  1854]  showed 
signs  of  much  competition,  and  yet  there  still  lay 
extensive  areas  which  the  plow  had  never  touched. 
Armed  with  the  imagination  of  a  Munchausen,  one 
would  not  have  wagered  the  prophecy  that  scarcely 
fifteen  years  later  the  land  would  be  over-populated 
according  to  the  American's  way  of  thinking,  and  the 
bee-hive  would  be  ready  for  swarming. ' ' 

These  are  the  words  of  a  gentleman  who  left  Hol- 
land in  1854  and  made  his  home  at  Pella.  The  con- 
stant arrival  of  fresh  accessions  of  Hollanders  and 
Americans  since  1847  had  so  increased  the  popula- 
tion of  the  Pella  colony  that  many  persons  began  to 
think  of  emigration  to  some  spot  farther  west.  In 
1856  a  citizen  who  was  particularly  concerned  with 
the  lot  of  the  Hollanders  advised  the  establishment 
of  a  Dutch  settlement  in  some  less  crowded  portion 
of  Iowa.111 

In  the  year  1860  Henry  Hospers,  an  influential 
citizen  of  Pella,  had  occasion  to  spend  a  few  weeks 
at  St.  Joseph,  Missouri,  where  he  saw  hundreds  of 
people  crossing  the  Missouri  River  and  emigrating  in 
loaded  wagons  to  seek  homes  in  eastern  Nebraska. 
He  observed  "that  all  who  had  the  nerve  to  settle 

122 


A  BEE-HIVE  READY  FOR  SWxVRMING       123 


upon  the  prairie  found  what  they  so  eagerly  de- 
sired"; and  on  his  return  to  Pella  he  discussed  with 
many  men  the  possibility  of  migrating  to  Nebraska. 
Indeed,  plans  were  made  to  raise  money  with  which 
to  purchase  land,  but  nothing  was  done  at  this  time. 

Nevertheless,  the  need  for  emigration  became 
more  pressing  as  time  went  on.  During  the  years 
1867  and  1868  Jelle  Pelmulder,  a  Frieslander  by 
birth,  took  up  the  emigration  plan  with  zeal  and 
earnestness,  entered  into  correspondence  with  land 
officers,  obtained  much  information,  and  in  every  way 
"with  Frisian  thoroughness  gave  the  emigration  ball 
a  fresh  start".  He  has  been  called  the  originator  of 
the  plan  to  purchase  land  for  a  colony  in  northwest- 
ern Iowa.112 

That  the  colonization  fever  was  rapidly  spread- 
ing throughout  the  Pella  colony  is  evidenced  by  the 
fact  that  after  the  formation  of  an  emigrant  associa- 
tion the  forty-four  members  appointed  a  committee 
of  three  to  visit  Texas,  while  a  second  association 
focused  its  attention  upon  Kansas.  The  three  com- 
mitteemen sent  out  to  investigate  the  Lone  Star 
State  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  trickster  at  New  Or- 
leans, were  relieved  of  their  money,  and  returned  to 
Pella  with  only  a  long  tale  of  woe  for  their  trouble. 
A  few  families  succumbed  to  the  Kansas  enthusiasm, 
invested  their  money  in  that  drouth-ridden  land,  and 
many  returned  to  their  Pella  homes  thoroughly  disap- 
pointed. Others  went  to  Oregon  and  Nebraska  with 
the  same  result.113 

Although  there  mav  have  been  some  considera- 


124  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

tion  of  the  subject  of  emigration  during  the  year 
1868,  it  was  not  until  the  month  of  March,  1869,  that 
public  meetings  were  held  at  Pella,  and  largely  at- 
tended, for  the  purpose  of  discussing  colonization  in 
northwestern  Iowa.  Henry  John  van  der  Waa,  de- 
ciding that  land  prices  and  rents  at  Pella  were  too 
high,  had  written  to  a  land  agent  at  Storm  Lake,  and 
being  informed  that  there  were  homesteads  enough 
for  himself  and  all  his  friends,  he  at  once  decided  to 
sell  his  Pella  property.  With  that  idea  in  mind  he 
went  to  the  office  of  Henry  Hospers  to  have  auction 
bills  printed.  When  Hospers  learned  what  his  friend 
intended  to  do,  he  wrote  to  the  agent  at  Storm  Lake. 
Upon  receipt  of  a  favorable  reply  he  read  the  letter 
to  van  der  Waa,  with  the  result  that  they  called  a 
meeting  to  be  held  a  few  weeks  later ' '  for  the  purpose 
of  starting  a  colony."  114 

This  simple  incident  led  to  combined  action  on 
the  part  of  those  who  were  dissatisfied  with  condi- 
tions at  Pella.  Most  enlightening  in  all  matters  per- 
taining to  emigration  was  Pella' 's  Weekblad,  edited 
by  Henry  Hospers.  Through  the  columns  of  this 
paper  the  movement  was  well  advertised  from  the 
first.  At  the  fourth  public  meeting  in  Pella  the  fol- 
lowing resolution  met  with  unanimous  approval : 

Whereas,  a  general  need  is  felt  that  we  should  provide 
for  ourselves,  our  fellow-countrymen,  and  the  ever-increas- 
ing emigration  from  our  fatherland,  and  that  we  should  se- 
cure a  suitable  region  where  all  may  find  an  abundance  of 
cheap  land  and  opportunity  for  agriculture  on  an  exten- 
sive scale;  and 


A  BEE-HIVE  READY  FOR  SWARMING       125 

Whereas,  we  all  deem  it  very  desirable  to  dwell  by  our- 
selves in  a  society  or  community  compatible  with  our  na- 
tional character  as  Netherlanders,  where  Netherlander  may 
find  a  hospitable  welcome ; 

Resolved,  That  we  use  our  utmost  endeavors  to  find  a 
place  in  the  northwestern  or  any  other  part  of  this  State 
where  we  may  obtain  sufficient  and  suitable  farm  lands  at 
a  reasonable  price;  and  that  we1  invite  to  them  the  atten- 
tion of  our  countrymen.115 

The  first  step  towards  emigration,  therefore, 
came  at  a  time  when  the  Hollanders  had  lived  in 
Marion  County  just  twenty-two  years.  This  part  of 
the  State  of  Iowa  was  beginning  to  be  overcrowded ; 
and  it  is  a  fact  worthy  of  note  that  the  population  of 
Marion  County  has  been  stationary  since  1870.  It  is 
true  that  all  available  lands  had  not  yet  been  occu- 
pied: indeed,  hundreds  of  acres  still  lay  untouched. 
But  the  movement  to  secure  more  abundant  and 
cheaper  land  sprang  from  the  greed  of  Marion 
County's  land  speculators,  who  had  placed  a  pro- 
hibitive price  upon  their  land. 

Some  years  later  an  observer  wrote  that  the  Pella 
colony  was  favorably  situated,  the  soil  was  extreme- 
ly fertile,  and  beneath  the  surface  lay  rich  and  ac- 
cessible coal  mines.    He  added : 

Though  the  young  city's  bloom  was  promoted  by  its 
being  taken  into  the  net  of  railways,  undoubtedly  the  chief 
cause  of  its  prosperity  was  the  persevering  and  untiring  in- 
dustry of  the  Dutch  inhabitants.  The  population  became 
larger  and  larger,  and  the  colony  spread  in  all  directions. 
A  large  part  of  the  land,  however,  was  occupied  by  Ameri- 


126  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

cans.  As  population  increased,  the  price  of  land  climbed 
higher.  In  1847  the  /price  of  broken  prairie  land  ranged 
from  $2.50  to  $5.00,  and  twenty  years  later  it  was  set  at 
from  $40  to  $60.  And  since  the  prices  of  produce  had  not 
risen  correspondingly  but  had  remained  comparatively  sta- 
tionary, one  can  easily  see  why  farming  as  an  occupation 
became  less  lucrative.  The  increasing  population  also  made 
it  more  and  more  difficult  to  get  possession  of  a  farm. 

By  the  year  1869  those  who  were  children  in  1847 
had  arrived  at  a  marriagable  age.  Young  men  who 
desired  to  own  farm  estates  of  their  own  saw  the  way 
practically  closed  to  them  in  Marion  County.  They 
disliked  the  prospect  of  holding  farms  at  high  rents 
with  no  assurance  that  they  would  ever  save  enough 
to  enable  them  to  buy  land  for  themselves.  As  the 
heads  of  growing  families,  how  could  they  and  their 
children  ever  advance  in  the  world  when  high  rents 
and  high  prices  obstructed  the  path?  Hence  many 
Pella  farmers  were  driven  to  look  elsewhere,  eager 
to  apply  their  limited  means  and  willing  hands  to  the 
cultivation  of  cheaper  soil.116 


XIX 

THE  INVESTIGATION  OP  NORTHWESTERN 
IOWA  IN  1869 

No  sooNERliad  the  resolution  to  emigrate  been  passed 
than  the  prospective  emigrants  appointed  a  commit- 
tee of  three  trustworthy,  practical  farmers  to  visit 
northwestern  Iowa  and  decide  whether  a  Dutch  set- 
tlement would  be  practicable  in  that  region.  At  the 
same  time  every  member  of  the  emigrant  association 
was  taxed  three  dollars  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the 
committee.  Later  they  selected  a  fourth  committee- 
man, who  consented  to  act ' '  if  the  association  would 
get  some  one  to  take  his  place  on  the  farm".  The 
prospective  emigrants  also  agreed  to  pay  a  certain 
member  of  the  committee  one  dollar  per  day  for  the 
use  of  his  span  of  mules  for  the  journey. 

Having  fitted  out  a  "prairie  schooner"  with 
necessary  camping  apparatus  and  supplies,  the  fol- 
lowing men  departed  from  Pella  on  Monday,  April 
26,  1869 :  Sjoerd  Aukes  Sipma  and  Jelle  Pelmulder, 
two  Frieslanders  by  birth,  aged  fifty-six  and  fifty- 
two  respectively,  Hubert  Muilenburg,  Sr.,  aged  forty- 
seven,  and  Henry  John  van  der  Waa,  a  young  man 
who  had  come  to  Pella  with  his  parents  during  the 
first  years  of  the  settlement.  While  on  the  trip  Pel- 
mulder despatched  several  interesting  letters  to  the 

127 


128  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

Dutch  newspaper  at  Pella.  From  their  camp  in  the 
timber  south  of  Nevada  in  Story  County  he  wrote: 
* '  Coffee  nearly  ready,  bacon  frying  in  the  pan  —  we 
are  hale  and  hearty.  Roads  so  bad  we  travel  slowly. 
Greet  our  families  and  friends." 

From  Pella  the  committee  proceeded  by  way  of 
Newton,  Iowa  Center,  Story  City,  and  Webster  City, 
and  then  joining  a  long  train  of  emigrant  wagons  fol- 
lowed the  line  of  the  Illinois  Central  Railroad  to 
Fort  Dodge,  encountering  swollen  rivers  and  creeks 
and  muddy  roads.  At  Fort  Dodge  they  halted  for  a 
day  or  two,  just  long  enough  to  discover  that  the 
country  in  the  vicinity  was  unsuitable  for  their  pur- 
poses. They  had  intended  to  go  north  into  Emmet, 
Palo  Alto,  and  Kossuth  counties;  but  at  the  land 
office  they  learned  that  homesteads  in  that  direction 
were  scarce  and  devoid  of  timber.  They  therefore 
continued  westward  to  Storm  Lake  through  Calhoun 
and  Pocahontas  counties  with  their  scattered  settlers, 
following  the  stakes  which  marked  the  route  of  the 
Iowa  Falls  and  Sioux  City  Railway.  Nearly  the 
whole  distance  from  Fort  Dodge  to  the  north  bank  of 
Storm  Lake  was  a  roadless  stretch  of  country  to 
which  people  had  but  recently  been  attracted.  The 
committee  very  carefully  took  note  of  where  the  best 
land  lay. 

At  the  lake  the  committeemen  spent  Sunday  with 
a  Methodist  preacher  who  had  been  sent  as  a  mission- 
ary to  the  two  hundred  or  more  pioneers  of  Buena 
Vista  County.  Finding  the  land  to  the  north  of 
Storm  Lake  very  good,  but  taken  by  homesteaders, 


INVESTIGATION  OF  NORTHWESTERN  IOWA  129 

they  followed  an  old  government  road  to  Cherokee — 
a  distance  of  about  twenty  miles,  most  of  which  was 
a  treeless,  houseless  expanse  of  prairie  land  with  a 
number  of  little  streams.  The  whole  population  of 
Cherokee  County  at  that  time  consisted  of  but  four 
hundred  and  fifty-nine  people,  and  what  is  now  the 
city  of  Cherokee  consisted  of  a  group  of  small  houses, 
a  stockade  where  soldiers  had  been  stationed,  and  a 
store,  the  keeper  of  which  was  very  talkative  and 
friendly  in  his  reception  of  the  Hollanders  from 
Pell  a.  ''He  too  was  already  a  land-agent  as  is  near- 
ly everybody  else  who  can  write  and  knows  what  a 
section  of  land  is." 

From  Cherokee  to  Melbourne  in  Plymouth  Coun- 
ty the  homeseekers  traversed  forty  miles  of  prairie 
country  as  beautiful  as  any  they  had  ever  seen ;  but 
not  a  single  settler's  homestead  appeared  in  sight. 
About  ten  miles  west  of  Cherokee  they  examined  the 
soil,  sub-soil,  water  and  drainage,  and  found  every- 
thing so  satisfactory  that  they  decided  to  recommend 
that  region  as  the  best  site  for  a  colony,  provided  one 
or  two  townships  of  land  could  be  obtained. 

On  the  road  westward  the  committee  met  numer- 
ous persons  with  teams  and  wagons  going  to  or  re- 
turning from  the  Sioux  City  land  office.  The  rumor 
of  free  and  fertile  lands  had  begun  to  attract  crowds 
of  people  to  northwestern  Iowa.  One  night  while 
sleeping  in  their  wagon  near  the  road,  the  men  from 
Pella  were  awakened  by  the  loud  barking  of  their 
dog  as  two  men  noisily  drove  past :  "they  were  rush- 
ing to  Sioux  City  to  forestall  other  persons  who 


130  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

wanted  the  same  homesteads."  Everywhere  the 
land  was  of  good  quality  and  well  adapted  to  the  pur- 
poses of  a  Dutch  colony,  except  that  the  settlers 
would  be  dependent  on  railroads  for  their  fuel  and 
lumber. 

The  committee  rested  on  Sunday,  the  9th  of  May, 
near  Melbourne,  a  prosperous  farming  community  of 
about  one  hundred  and  eighty  persons  in  the  valley 
of  the  Floyd  River.  Upon  the  invitation  of  a  Ger- 
man minister's  wife,  who  furnished  them  with  re- 
ligious tracts,  all  attended  services  and  listened  to  a 
sermon  which  "we,  being  Hollanders,  could  not  un- 
derstand at  all". 

Two  weeks  from  the  time  they  had  left  Pella  the 
four  Hollanders  reached  Sioux  City,  a  "booming" 
western  town  already  the  home  of  a  government  land 
office  and  destined  soon  to  be  a  busy  railroad  center. 
They  hastened  at  once  to  inquire  about  land,  but  so 
great  was  the  throng  of  homeseekers  who  had  col- 
lected before  the  office  doors  were  opened  at  nine 
o'clock  that  they  waited  until  noon  before  they  could 
speak  with  the  officer  in  charge.  So  eager  were  some 
men  in  their  desire  to  outstrip  others  for  the  same 
land  that  fights  were  frequent  and  foot-races  were 
run  for  first  choice. 

By  special  arrangement,  on  that  same  day  the 
Pella  men  gained  admission  to  the  land  office  after 
dark,  entering  by  way  of  the  back  door.  They  de- 
clared their  intention  to  report  favorably  on  land 
from  ten  to  fifteen  miles  west  of  Cherokee  on  both 
sides  of  the  railway  survey.  ' '  When  our  purpose  be- 
came known,"  wrote  a  member  of  the  committee, 


INVESTIGATION  OF  NORTHWESTERN  IOWA  131 

"the  gentlemen  showed  much  willingness  to  serve, 
and  I  believe  we  were  very  welcome :  they  would  have 
rejoiced  to  see  our  colony  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Sioux  City."  The  committee,  however,  could  do  no 
more  than  speak  of  intention,  and  the  officials  could 
only  inform  the  Hollanders  that  they  might  buy  land 
sufficient  for  large  colonies  in  Cherokee,  Sioux, 
0  'Brien,  and  Lyon  counties. 

Immediately  upon  the  return  of  the  committee  to 
Pella,  after  a  wagon  journey  of  nearly  five  hundred 
and  fifty  miles,  all  prospective  emigrants  were  sum- 
moned to  a  meeting  on  the  first  of  June,  1869.  Two 
hundred  Hollanders  attended,  and  listened  eagerly 
to  the  glowing  report  of  their  committee,  who  "could 
not  find  words  enough  to  describe  the  beauty  of 
northwestern  Iowa,  especially  the  neighborhood  of 
Cherokee."  At  a  subsequent  meeting  in  June  pros- 
pective homesteaders  made  their  first  declaration  be- 
fore the  county  clerk  and  signed  applications  for 
homesteads;  authorized  the  distribution  of  home- 
steads by  lot ;  subscribed  for  sixty  ten-dollar  shares 
in  a  town-site;  decided  to  call  the  proposed  town 
"New  Holland",  and  to  allow  Henry  Hospers  one- 
third  of  the  land  on  the  town-site ;  and  finally  they 
resolved  to  despatch  a  second  committee  to  the  site 
of  the  proposed  settlement  and  to  pay  Henry  John 
van  der  Waa  $2.50  per  day  for  the  use  of  his  mule 
team.  Eighty-six  Pella  farmers  signified  their  desire 
to  obtain  homesteads,  and  thirteen  others  were  pre- 
pared to  buy  from  eighty  to  four  hundred  and  eighty 
acres  of  land  outright.  They  subscribed  for  several 
thousand  acres  in  all.117 


XX 

THE  CHOICE  OP  SIOUX  COUNTY 

Late  in  the  montli  of  June,  1869,  the  second  commit- 
tee of  four  was  appointed  with  authority  to  make  a 
definite  choice  of  land  for  a  colony,  and  to  secure  the 
land  in  accordance  with  the  requirements  of  the  na- 
tional homestead  and  preemption  laws.  Moreover, 
they  were  authorized  to  select  and  buy  a  town-site, 
and  to  do  everything  that  was  necessary  to  advance 
the  colonization  plan  of  the  prospective  emigrants 
from  Pella. 

Of  the  committeemen  —  Leen  van  der  Meer,  Dirk 
van  den  Bos,  Henry  John  van  der  Waa,  and  Henry 
Hospers  —  three  made  the  journey  to  Sioux  City 
with  mule-team  and  covered  wagon.  Hospers  went 
by  rail  by  way  of  Des  Moines  and  Council  Bluffs  in 
order  to  make  a  preliminary  study  of  maps  in  the 
land  office  and  procure  all  necessary  information. 
He  wrote  from  Sioux  City  that  his  "  train  was  loaded 
with  emigrants  thirsting  for  land,  land,  land."  When 
they  had  arrived  at  Sioux  City,  the  committeemen 
were  greatly  exasperated  to  find  that  their  plan  to 
buy  land  a  few  miles  west  of  Cherokee  had  been 
frustrated  by  speculators,  who  had  gobbled  up  all 
that  region  with  the  hope  of  selling  it  to  the  Hol- 
landers at  a  handsome  profit.     Despite  this  disap- 

132 


THE  CHOICE  OF  SIOUX  COUNTY  133 

pointment,  the  committee  resolved  to  do  the  next  best 
thing:  since  the  Hollanders  of  Pella  desired  a  large 
area  exclusively  for  themselves  at  government 
prices,  they  would  pass  by  the  speculators  in  Chero- 
kee County  and  examine  Sioux  and  Lyon  counties 
where  government  and  railroad  lands  were  still 
abundant. 

At  Sioux  City,  therefore,  the  four  men  loaded 
their  covered  wagon  with  provisions  calculated  to 
last  during  a  three  weeks  sojourn  on  the  prairies, 
engaged  a  surveyor,  and  set  out  northward  to  ex- 
plore the  northwestern  counties.  They  traveled  the 
road  to  Junction  City  (now  called  Le  Mars),  where 
they  found  only  one  small  store  building,  and  then 
followed  the  banks  of  a  stream,  the  Floyd  River,  for 
about  fifteen  miles  to  the  southern  boundary  of  Sioux 
County.  Except  for  the  homes  of  three  or  four  pio- 
neers they  saw  neither  dwellings,  trees,  nor  roads  — 
only  a  series  of  gently  rolling  swells  of  beautiful 
prairie  land  clothed  with  its  wealth  of  green  buffalo 
grass  and  wild  flowers  of  every  kind. 

The  appearance  of  Sioux  County  early  in  July  so 
impressed  the  Pella  prospectors  that  without  the 
slightest  doubt  or  hesitation  they  unanimously  de- 
clared: "Here  is  the  place!"  With  map  and  sur- 
veyor's compass  as  guides  they  sought  and  found 
the  corner  stakes  of  the  government  sections,  mea- 
sured off  two  townships,  selected  a  town-site  six 
miles  north  of  the  Plymouth  County  line,  gave  the 
locality  the  name  of  "Holland",  and  took  possession 
of  thirty-eight  sections  of  land.    After  throwing  up 


134  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

small  mounds  of  earth  in  the  new  townships  to  mark 
the  way  back,  the  party  returned  to  Sioux  City. 
There,  in  a  surveyor's  office,  they  apportioned  the 
land  among  the  prospective  colonists  in  the  following- 
manner:  section  numbers  and  names  of  homestead- 
ers were  written  on  separate  slips  of  paper  and 
placed  in  separate  boxes ;  for  each  section  number  a 
name  was  drawn  ;  and  the  drawer  became  entitled  to 
the  northeast  quarter  of  the  section  and  also  to  the 
choice  of  relatives  whom  he  wished  to  have  settle  on 
the  adjoining  quarter-sections.  After  this  work  was 
done  three  members  of  the  committee  returned  to 
Pella,  while  Henry  Hospers  remained  at  Sioux  City 
to  make  sure  that  the  necessary  papers  were  pre- 
pared and  hied  according  to  law  and  that  affidavits 
were  deposited  in  the  name  of  the  various  Pella 
homeseekers. 

By  the  LTnited  States  homestead  law  of  that  day 
a  duly  qualified  person  could  obtain  either  eighty  or 
one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  government  land  ac- 
cording as  the  land  lay  within  or  without  the  range  of 
a  railroad  land  grant.  In  Sioux  County  every  alter- 
nate section  of  land,  designated  by  odd  numbers,  for 
ten  sections  in  width  on  each  side  of  the  line  of  the 
proposed  road  had  been  granted  by  Congress  in  1864 
to  the  St.  Paul  and  Sioux  City  Railroad.  Much  of 
the  land  selected  by  the  Hollanders  in  even-num- 
bered sections  was  situated  within  ten  miles  of  the 
proposed  railroad,  and  hence  each  prospective  home- 
steader was  entitled  to  only  eighty  acres. 

To  obtain  a  homestead  it  was  necessarv  to  file  an 


THE  CHOICE  OF  SIOUX  COUNTY  135 

application  and  affidavit  with  the  Register  of  the 
Land  Office  at  Sioux  City,  at  which  time  the  claim 
took  effect,  and  thereupon  the  applicant  was  re- 
quired to  make  his  home  upon  the  land.  After  five 
years  of  settlement  and  cultivation,  or  within  two 
years,  upon  satisfactory  proof  to  the  Register,  a 
patent  or  complete  title-deed  was  issued  to  the  set- 
tler. 

Congress  provided  a  second  method  by  which  a 
title  to  government  land  could  be  obtained.  By  the 
preemption  law,  the  person  who  desired  to  "pre- 
empt" rather  than  "homestead"  was  obliged  to  set- 
tle on  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land,  and  with- 
in thirty  days  to  file  at  the  District  Land  Office  his 
declaratory  statement  as  to  the  fact  of  settlement, 
appear  at  the  office  within  one  year,  make  proof  of  his 
actual  residence  on  and  improvement  of  the  land, 
and  at  the  time  of  "proving  up"  secure  the  title 
either  by  filing  a  warrant  duly  assigned  to  him  or  by 
the  cash  payment  of  $1.25  or  $2.50  per  acre  accord- 
ing as  the  land  was  situated  without  or  within  the 
limits  of  a  railroad  land  grant.118 


XXI 

A  GLIMPSE  OF  SIOUX  COUNTY  IN  1869 

No  sooner  had  the  committee  reported  at  Pella  than 
the  emigrants  prepared  to  make  a  brief  preliminary 
visit  to  their  homesteads  in  Sioux  County.  Early 
in  September,  1869,  seventy-five  men  in  eighteen 
wagons,  with  three  surveyors  and  sufficient  provi- 
sions, journeyed  to  the  site  of  their  future  farms 
nearly  three  hundred  miles  away,  labored  for  a  week 
or  two  surveying  and  plowing  in  compliance  with  the 
law,  and  then  returned  home,  thoroughly  convinced 
that  they  had  seen  the  finest  land  in  the  State  of 
Iowa. 

No  words  could  better  describe  the  appearance  of 
northwestern  Iowa  than  those  of  an  eminent  visitor 
from  Holland : 

Road  is — to  be  honest — mere  euphemism  here,  a  figur- 
ative expression,  a  sort  of  poetic  license ;  as  for  a  highway, 
there  was  none  or  just  a  trail.  The  boundless  prairie  lay 
spread  out  before  us,  and  driver  and  horses  knew  their 
course.  'Twas  a  ride  not  without  its  peculiar  enjoyment. 
True :  it  was  bitterly  cold  in  the  wind  which  swept  unob- 
structed from  the  North.  I  could  only  imagine  how  very 
different  things  must  be  in  summer  when  the  thick,  soft 
carpet  of  dark  green  grass  appears  dotted  with  flowers  of  all 
colors;  but  even  so,  despite  the  barrenness,  wildness,  and 
monotony  of  the  scene,  yea  by  reason  of  these,  there  is  some- 

136 


A  GLIMPSE  OF  SIOUX  COUNTY  IN  1869      137 


thing  grand  and  awe-inspiring  in  the  landscape.  Nothing 
impedes  or  interrupts  the  view,  whithersoever  one  looks. 
No  hill  or  rock,  not  even  a  house  or  tree,  not  a  single  sharp 
line.  Nothing,  absolutely  nothing  but  the  vast,  broad 
prairie !  And  yet  it  is  somewhat  different  from  the  single 
horizontal  line  which  describes  our  low,  level  meadows  in 
Holland:  an  endless  succession  of  irregular,  undulating 
slopes  which  seem  to  extend  one's  circle  of  vision  in- 
definitely. 

There  is  an  inexpressible  charm,  something  solemn, 
mysterious  in  the  nature  of  the  landscape  which  speaks  to 
the  imagination  and  even  to  the  heart.  It  awakens  a  con- 
sciousness such  as  that  aroused  by  a  view  of  the  ocean ;  yes, 
in  a  certain  sense  it  is  even  stronger  here.  There,  in  bound- 
less space  is  the  unending  monotony  of  restless  water ;  here, 
over  the  vast  but  motionless  waves,  petrified  as  it  were, 
reigns  a  deep,  solemn  stillness,  emblematic  of  peace  and 
immortality,  but  also  of  fresh,  free,  invincible  power.  In- 
deed, there  is  poetry  in  the  view,  and  I  realize  now  why  the 
Arab  waxes  enthusiastic  over  the  desert ;  I  understand  now 
why  the  poetical  soul  of  such  a  person  as  Miss  Currer  Bell 
loves  the  monotonous  heath  of  North-England  more  than 
the  most  picturesque  landscape.  I  can  almost  explain  what 
people  here  say  of  a  settler  of  the  prairies,  who  complained 
of  being  stifled  when  he  caught  sight  in  the  distance  of 
smoke  rising  from  the  chimney  of  a  "neighbor"  who  had 
located  twenty  miles  away ! 

Though  its  establishment  as  a  county  dated  back 
to  1852,  Sioux  County  lay  too  far  away  from  every 
beaten  path  between  the  East  and  the  West  to  at- 
tract any  serious  notice  at  this  early  date.  Like  its 
neighbors  Plymouth,  Osceola,  and  Lyon  counties,  it 


138  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 


consisted  simply  of  prairie,  with  hardly  a  tree  to  be 
seen.  What  could  a  pioneer  accomplish  without  tim- 
ber for  logs,  fence  rails,  fuel,  and  boards?  Sioux 
County  also  lacked  railroads.  It  is  not  strange, 
therefore,  that  homeseekers  had  found  no  great  in- 
ducement to  lay  out  farms  on  the  bleak  prairies.  As 
a  matter  of  fact,  in  1869  it  was  only  on  the  heavily 
wooded  banks  of  the  Big  Sioux  River,  the  western 
boundary  of  the  State  and  county,  that  settlers  were 
to  be  found.  Here  a  small  village  called  Calliope 
had  sprung  up. 

Before  settlers  made  their  appearance  in  north- 
western Iowa  nothing  certain  is  known  of  its  history. 
That  man  had  ever  had  a  fixed  abode  on  those  beauti- 
ful prairies  there  was  not  the  slightest  trace;  but 
bones,  scattered  here  and  there  upon  the  earth's  sur- 
face or  half-buried  in  the  soil,  proved  that  herds  of 
buffaloes,  elks,  and  deer  had  grazed  there  from  time 
immemorial,  and  suggested  that  tribes  of  Indians 
might  have  hunted  and  departed  again  to  their  wig- 
wams in  some  other  region.119 

Census  statistics  gave  Sioux  County  a  population 
of  10  inhabitants  in  1860,  estimated  the  number  at 
25  and  20  in  the  years  1863  and  1865,  at  18  in  1867, 
and  at  110  in  1869,  when  Buncombe  Township,  which 
was  established  sometime  before  1861,  embraced  al- 
most the  entire  county.  The  same  census  for  1869 
credited  Lyon  and  Osceola  counties  with  no  inhabi- 
tants, O'Brien  County  with  51,  and  Plymouth  County 
with  179,  while  the  counties  just  to  the  east  were  only 
a  little  less  sparsely  settled. 


A  GLIMPSE  OF  SIOUX  COUNTY  IN  1869       139 

But  if  Sioux  County  in  1869  lacked  everything 
except  fertility,  its  inhabitants  and  others  interested 
in  its  future  knew  that  within  another  year  a  rail- 
road would  reach  Le  Mars  about  eighteen  miles 
away,  and  that  they  might  soon  expect  a  second  rail- 
road to  place  them  in  touch  with  St.  Paul  and  Sioux 
City.  Then  exploitation  of  the  soil  would  promise 
great  rewards.  It  was,  therefore,  a  matter  of  but  a 
few  years  before  Sioux  County  would  have  all  the 
means  of  transportation  and  communication  pos- 
sessed by  older  communities.120 


XXII 

THE  PLATTING  OF  ORANGE  CITY 

During  the  winter  months  of  1869  the  selection  of 
Sioux  County  as  a  site  for  a  new  Dutch  colony  re- 
ceived much  publicity  in  the  Dutch  newspapers  of 
America,  and  especially  in  Fella's  Weekblad.  Hen- 
ry Hospers  wrote  many  articles  to  encourage  interest 
in  the  colonization  movement.  As  the  leader  of  the 
emigrant  association,  he  assured  people  that  the  pro- 
gress and  development  of  the  new  settlement  in 
Sioux  County  was  bound  to  be  phenomenal,  because 
there  was  no  land  under  the  sun  more  fertile.  All 
winter  long  the  favorite  topic  of  conversation  at 
Pella  was  emigration,  and  careful  preparations  were 
made  for  the  approaching  journey.121 

In  the  spring  of  1870,  in  the  months  of  April  and 
May,  Henry  John  van  der  Waa  headed  the  first  emi- 
grant train  of  five  families  to  northwestern  Iowa, 
completing  the  journey  in  nineteen  days.  A  second 
train  consisting  of  several  families  of  Frieslanders 
was  piloted  by  Jelle  Pelmulder.  Leen  van  der  Meer 
and  Dirk  van  den  Bos  conducted  a  third  group,  while 
other  families  of  Hollanders  followed  during  the 
spring  and  summer,  some  even  coming  from  distant 
Chicago,  so  that  during  the  year  sixty-five  or  seventy 
families  settled  upon  Sioux  County  homesteads.122 

140 


THE  PLATTING  OF  ORANGE  CITY  141 

In  this  way  commenced  the  settling  of  the  virgin 
prairies  of  northwestern  Iowa.  The  favorable  situ- 
ation and  fertility  of  land  in  the  vicinity  of  Pella,  the 
presence  of  coal  mines,  a  railroad  and  good  markets, 
and  above  all  the  industry  and  thrift  of  the  Dutch 
inhabitants  —  all  had  conduced  to  the  purchase  of 
unsold  Marion  County  lands  by  speculators  who 
hoped  that  as  the  population  of  Pella  and  vicinity 
increased  they  might  reap  profit  from  the  Holland- 
er's growing  thirst  for  good  land.  Had  Americans 
not  prematurely  raised  land  prices,  the  Hollanders 
of  Pella  would  have  made  themselves  masters  of  an 
area  of  country  much  more  extensive  than  that  occu- 
pied to-day.  Young  married  men  just  starting  out  in 
life  and  many  other  ambitious  men  were  forced  to 
look  toward  the  vacant  public  lands  of  Sioux  County 
for  better  things,  and  thither  they  steered  their  ox 
and  horse  teams,  driving  herds  of  cattle  before  them, 
eager  to  set  up  homes  for  their  wives  and  children. 

Numerous  pioneers  who  had  lived  in  or  near  Pella 
since  1847  left  the  comforts  of  their  town  and  country 
homes  to  undergo  once  more  the  discomforts  con- 
nected with  the  reclamation  of  a  new  country.  For 
some  months  they  lived  in  tents  and  used  their  cov- 
ered wagons  for  sleeping  purposes.  Despite  the 
fact  that  the  new  colony  possessed  railroad  connec- 
tions at  Le  Mars  about  eighteen  miles  to  the  south  — 
a  convenience  which  Pella  had  lacked  for  seventeen 
years  —  many  of  the  Sioux  County  pioneers  either 
had  no  desire  to  haul  lumber  so  far  or  else  they  con- 
sidered frame  dwellings  beyond  their  means,  for 


142  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

after  spending  several  weeks  preparing  the  rich  soil 
for  the  first  season's  crops,  they  began  to  build 
houses  as  far  as  possible  without  lumber. 

Five  months  after  taking  possession  of  their 
lands  the  Sioux  County  Hollanders  still  lived  for 
the  most  part  in  "dug-outs"  or  sod  houses  such  as 
many  of  them  had  first  become  acquainted  with  in 
Marion  County.  Some  found  their  wagons  suf- 
ficiently comfortable  during  the  warm  summer  and 
autumn  weather,  and  so  continued  to  devote  all  their 
time  to  ploughing  or  "breaking"  their  prairie  farms, 
the  main  object  being  to  get  them  in  readiness  for 
seeding  in  the  spring  of  1871.  Few  colonists  lived  in 
frame  houses  during  the  first  year. 

To  recall  the  nature  of  the  first  human  habita- 
tions upon  that  vast  stretch  of  rolling  prairie  region, 
now  dotted  everywhere  with  commodious  houses  and 
barns  sheltered  by  groves  of  trees,  reveals  much  of 
the  community  life  of  those  enterprising  Dutch  pio- 
neer fathers  of  Holland  Township.  Usually  a  dug- 
out was  constructed  upon  the  eastern  or  southern 
slope  of  a  hill  to  secure  protection  against  north- 
western blasts  in  winter.  Excavations  were  made 
and  four  walls  of  thick  prairie  sod  were  then  raised 
to  an  equal  height  and  a  roof  of  long  slough  grass 
was  added.  Generally  these  sod  houses  had  two 
openings,  one  to  serve  as  window  and  the  other  as 
door,  both  of  which  required  an  outlay  of  little  more 
than  one  dollar. 

In  most  cases,  it  is  said,  "these  homes  consisted 
of  but  one  compartment  which  served  as  parlor,  liv- 


THE  PLATTING  OF  ORANGE  CITY  143 

ing-room,  dining-room,  bed-room,  kitchen,  and  cellar. 
The  more  elaborate  houses  had  one  room  partitioned 
off  by  a  sod  wall,  which  did  service  as  a  bed-room 
where  berths  were  arranged  along  the  wall  some- 
times two  or  three  above  one  another.  The  furni- 
ture of  these  homes  was  also  very  simple  and  limit- 
ed: a  dry-goods  box  placed  in  the  center  of  the  room 
was  often  used  as  a  wardrobe,  a  cupboard,  and  a 
dining  table.  The  walls  were  so  dug  out  that  a  seat 
all  the  way  round  about  the  height  of  an  ordinary 
chair  was  left :  this  obviated  the  necessity  of  buying 
chairs.  The  fuel  of  those  days  consisted  of  slough 
grass,  very  ingeniously  and  tightly  twisted  in  order 
to  last  longer  in  the  fire." 

Happiness  and  contentment  reigned  within  those 
simple  homes  to  no  small  degree.  Good-will  and 
kindly  feeling  prevailed  among  their  occupants. 
"When  any  one  was  in  distress  or  in  need  of  aid,  all 
joined  hands;  and  when  most  of  them  were  about 
equally  penniless  and  unable  to  offer  their  empty 
purses  in  rendering  assistance  they  found  some  way 
to  serve  one  another.  They  helped  build  each 
other's  houses  and  barns ;  they  watered  each  other's 
cattle;  they  took  charge  of  each  other's  children 
.     .     .     .     and  assisted  in  every  kind  of  work. "  123 

In  such  inartistic  huts  most  of  the  first  settlers 
lived  for  many  months,  because  the  expense  was 
trifling  and  no  less  because  they  had  no  time  to  build 
more  substantial  houses.  House-building  stood  sec- 
ond upon  their  program :  prairie-breaking  came  first. 
Some  of  the  settlers  were  fairlv  well-to-do  financial- 


144  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

ly;  most  of  them,  however,  had  sunk  their  limited 
wealth  into  the  soil.  Their  chief  capital  at  the  out- 
set was  willing  hands,  which  they  were  glad  to  apply 
without  stint  to  the  production  of  an  excellent  har- 
vest, after  which  they  would  plan  bigger  and  better 
things. 

As  the  winter  of  1870  approached,  and  sheds, 
cribs,  and  fuel  came  into  demand,  the  Hollanders 
found  that  they  must  either  go  to  Le  Mars  about 
eighteen  miles  southwest,  a  station  on  the  Iowa  Falls 
&  Sioux  City  Railroad,  or  else  journey  with  teams 
and  wagons  to  the  Rock  River  twenty-five  miles  to 
the  northwest,  since  the  supply  of  willows  and  box- 
elders  upon  the  banks  of  the  Floyd  River  had  been 
exhausted.  The  colonists  chose  to  haul  their  fire- 
wood, logs,  and  posts  from  the  river  without  cost 
rather  than  go  into  debt  by  paying  handsome  prices 
to  the  lumber  dealers  at  Le  Mars.  A  few  squatters 
in  that  region  of  Sioux  County,  claiming  to  be  owners 
of  the  land,  met  the  Hollanders  with  pitch-forks  and 
axes,  but  these  weapons  did  not  deter  the  Dutchmen 
from  getting  what  they  wanted :  they  would  not  be 
thwarted  after  making  such  a  journey  through  bliz- 
zards and  freezing  weather.  The  squatters,  there- 
fore, adopted  other  methods:  they  removed  bolts 
from  the  wagons  while  the  Dutch  settlers  were  busy 
chopping.  But  the  meanest  thing  perpetrated  by 
them  was  to  put  powder  in  pieces  of  firewood  so  that 
explosions  frequently  occurred  in  the  cook-stoves  of 
the  Dutch  housewives.124 

Merchandise  and  other  products  of  the  civilized 


THE  PLATTING  OF  ORANGE  CITY  145 

world  were  hauled  overland  from  the  railroad  sta- 
tion at  Le  Mars.  Hollanders  who  became  county  of- 
ficials in  1870  and  1871  were  obliged  to  travel  on  foot 
twenty-five  miles  westward  to  the  county  seat,  Cal- 
liope, to  attend  to  county  business :  snow-drifts  and 
the  absence  of  bridges  made  progress  with  teams 
and  wagons  well-nigh  impossible,  and  walking  in  the 
winter  time  was  warmer,  more  comfortable,  and 
more  rapid. 

In  the  year  1870  the  colonists  saw  fit  to  perpetuate 
a  name  which  Hollanders  have  always  carried  with 
them  wherever  they  have  settled,  whether  in  North 
America,  South  America,  Africa,  or  Asia.  The 
Dutch  immigrants  who  founded  Pell  a  had  suffered  so 
much  at  the  hands  of  King  William  and  his  govern- 
ment that  they  were  in  no  mood  to  remember  the 
name  of  Holland's  Prince  of  Orange  by  inscribing 
it  upon  the  map  of  their  settlement  in  Marion  County. 

The  founders  of  the  Dutch  colony  in  Sioux  Coun- 
ty, however,  had  forgotten  the  persecutions  insti- 
gated by  their  Prince,  and  like  all  Hollanders  they 
prided  themselves  on  being  "Orangemen":  they  re- 
called the  political  cry  of  their  ancestors,  adherents 
of  the  House  of  Orange-Nassau,  "Oranje  boven!" 
(Orange  forever!)  Accordingly,  the  title  of  the 
Dutch  royal  house,  obtained  originally  from  the  city 
and  district  of  Orange  about  twelve  miles  north  of 
Avignon  in  southern  France,  was  placed  upon  the 
map  of  Iowa  as  "Orange  City",  in  Holland  Town- 
ship.125 

When  the  emigrants  organized  their  association 


346  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

at  Pella  in  the  spring  of  1869,  they  decided  that  all 
who  wished  might  subscribe  ten  dollars  in  order  to 
become  entitled  to  a  share  in  the  site  of  a  new  town 
to  be  laid  out  in  Sioux  County.  At  first  they  con- 
sidered it  best  that  Henry  Hospers  should  have  one- 
half  of  the  town  lands  and  that  the  association  should 
retain  the  other  half.  Later  when  sixty  prospective 
emigrants  had  bought  shares  in  a  town  to  be  called 
"New  Holland",  the  members  of  the  association  re- 
solved to  grant  one-third  of  the  town-site  to  their 
agent  Henry  Hospers  to  reimburse  him  for  all  his 
activity  in  behalf  of  the  colonization  project.126 

The  town  of  Orange  City,  which  was  laid  out  soon 
after  the  Hollanders  arrived  from  Pella,  at  first  em- 
braced a  quarter-section  of  land  in  the  middle  of  the 
rich  farming  country  selected  for  the  colony.  The 
emigrant  association  at  once  set  apart  one  block  for 
a  public  park,  staked  off  lots  most  of  which  were 
fifty  by  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  feet  in  size,  and 
decided  to  lay  aside  one-fifth  of  the  proceeds  of  the 
sale  of  lots  as  a  college  fund.  It  was  stipulated  in 
all  conveyances  that  the  purchaser  should  plant 
shade  trees  fronting  his  lot,  whether  buildings  were 
erected  or  not.  That  these  lines  of  trees  might  be 
planted  with  uniformity  and  regularity,  furrows 
were  plowed  at  the  proper  distance  from  the  lots 
along  all  the  streets,  thus  also  preparing  the  ground 
for  the  setting  of  the  trees.  The  streets  running 
north  and  south  were  named  Sioux,  Pella,  William, 
Washington,  and  Prairie.127 

One  of  the  first  two  buildings  in  the  prairie  vil- 


THE  PLATTING  OF  ORANGE  CITY  147 

lage  of  Orange  City  was  a  schoolhouso,  and  the 
population  in  1870  consisted  of  a  carpenter  and  his 
wife  and  son.  In  the  spring  and  summer  of  1871  a 
few  houses  were  built,  and  an  inn-keeper,  a  shoemak- 
er, a  barber,  and  a  blacksmith  came  to  town.  Hos- 
pers  also  sent  a  contractor  to  build  the  first  colony 
store.  Here,  it  is  said,  butter  and  eggs  were  received 
in  exchange  for  merchandise,  and  on  account  of  the 
general  scarcity  of  money  among  the  settlers,  no 
credit  was  given  for  a  time  until  the  leader  of  the 
colony  invented  "store  orders",  the  drawer  of  which 
bound  himself  to  break  a  specified  number  of  acres 
of  prairie  soil.  These  orders  or  promises  to  work 
circulated  quite  extensively  for  a  time. 

After  the  severe  winter  of  1871-1872,  when  snow- 
storms had  interfered  very  much  with  the  tedious 
journeys  to  gather  fuel  along  the  rivers,  the  St.  Paul 
and  Sioux  City  Kailroad  was  completed  through  the 
eastern  part  of  the  new  colony  with  a  station  at  East 
Orange  (now  Alton),  about  four  miles  east  of  Orange 
City.  No  other  agency  proved  to  be  so  great  a  boon 
to  the  settlement's  growth:  it  spared  many  a  long 
wagon  journey  for  fuel,  and  offered  the  settlers  ade- 
quate and  fairly  convenient  facilities  for  the  trans- 
portation of  grain,  and  the  importation  of  lumber, 
farm  implements,  merchandise,  and  other  necessa- 
ries. 

The  Hollanders  had  made  themselves  such  a  pow- 
er at  the  polls  that  at  the  autumn  election  of  1872 
a  majority  of  voters  declared  their  desire  that  the 
county  seat  be  removed  from  Calliope  to  the  eastern 


148  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

part  of  the  county  where  most  of  the  inhabitants 
lived.  The  Board  of  Supervisors  thereupon  re- 
solved that  the  county  records  and  property  be 
transferred  at  once.  Courthouse  and  jail  were  es- 
tablished in  Orange  City  and  a  poor-farm  was 
selected  just  outside  the  town  limits.  Henceforth 
official  life  centered  in  the  Dutch  colony.128 

For  three  years  the  Dutch  pioneers  of  Sioux 
County  experienced  steady  progress  upon  their  prai- 
rie farms.  They  had  gathered  a  modest  crop  of 
wheat  and  corn  from  their  newly-broken  acres  in 
1870  and  were  abundantly  blessed  in  the  harvest  sea- 
sons of  1871  and  1872.  A  bright  future  seemed  to 
beckon  to  all  Hollanders  who  were  willing  to  be  eco- 
nomical and  industrious.  They  had  contended  with 
many  hardships  and  had  sacrificed  much,  but  en- 
joyed the  peace  and  harmony  of  a  pleasant  commu- 
nity life.  They  had  learned  to  take  a  neighborly  in- 
terest in  one  another's  welfare  and  they  aided  one 
another  with  advice  and  practical  assistance.  They 
were  communistic  in  spirit  if  not  in  fact.  One  hun- 
dred and  sixty-three  families  had  become  housed 
within  as  many  dwellings  in  Holland  Township,  and 
twenty-seven  families  lived  at  Orange  City.  The 
entire  population  of  these  two  political  divisions,  not 
counting  the  Dutch  settlers  of  Nassau  and  other 
townships,  numbered  over  one  thousand  persons,  or 
about  one-third  of  the  total  population  of  the  coun- 
ty.129 

The  founding  of  a  "daughter"  colony  in  Sioux 
County  is  perhaps  the  most  noteworthy  incident  in 


THE  PLATTING  OF  ORANGE  CITY  149 

the  history  of  Pella,  not  only  because  an  abundance 
of  excellent  farm  land  was  discovered  for  so  many 
of  Pella 's  younger  generation  of  inhabitants,  who 
were  thus  saved  to  the  State  of  Iowa,  but  also  be- 
cause Orange  City  and  vicinity  have  come  to  be  the 
third  successful  Dutch  settlement  in  the  United 
States. 


XXIII 

HENEY  HOSPERS  AND  IMMIGRATION  TO 
SIOUX  COUNTY 

The  choice  of  a  site  for  the  new  Dutch  colony  was 
well  advertised  by  Henry  Hospers  in  his  family 
newspaper,  Pella's  Weekblad,  which  counted  many 
readers  among  the  Hollanders  of  Wisconsin  and 
Michigan  and  through  Dutch  newspapers  in  those 
States  and  various  other  exchanges  reached  hun- 
dreds of  people  not  only  in  America  but  also  in  The 
Netherlands. 

Henry  Hospers  was  but  a  youth  of  seventeen 
years  when  he  arrived  in  Iowa  with  Scholte's  first 
large  body  of  Dutch  immigrants.  His  rise  upon  the 
western  frontier  of  the  New  World  was  typically 
American.  Beginning  as  one  of  Pella's  first  school- 
masters, he  next  obtained  the  practical  experience  of 
a  surveyor  and  then  became  land-agent  and  notary 
public  with  a  prosperous  business.  The  panic  of 
1857  placed  him  in  dire  straits 'and  difficulties  —  only 
his  broad  knowledge  of  men  and  conditions,  together 
with  stamina  and  will-power,  enabled  him  to  rise 
above  misfortune.  He  founded  the  first  Dutch  news- 
paper in  Pella,  was  editor  for  nearly  ten  years ;  and 
he  served  also  as  mayor  of  Pella  from  1867  to  1871. 
As  a  candidate  for  county  surveyor  in  1856  and  for 
State  Representative  in  1869  he  suffered  defeat  at 

150 


IfKNKV    HOSPERS 


UKNKV    JIOSPEKS 


HENRY  HOSPERS  AND  IMMIGRATION       151 


the  polls.  It  was  while  he  occupied  the  mayor's 
chair  that  the  State  Board  of  Immigration  commis- 
sioned him  to  go  to  The  Netherlands  to  promote 
Dutch  immigration  to  Iowa. 

Of  this  mission  Hospers  rendered  a  full  report  in 
which  he  stated  by  way  of  preface  that  though  he 
was  commissioned  in  July  he  did  not  leave  for  Eu- 
rope until  the  middle  of  October,  1870,  because  there 
was  imminent  danger  that  The  Netherlands  might 
become  involved  in  the  Franco-Prussian  War.  Soon 
after  his  arrival  at  Rotterdam  on  the  third  day  of 
November  he  opened  an  office  in  the  village  of  Hoog 
Blokland  in  the  province  of  Zuid  Holland,  and  imme- 
diately caused  advertisements  to  be  inserted  in  the 
chief  newspapers  published  at  Amsterdam,  Rotter- 
dam, Haarlem,  Hensden,  Kampen,  and  Leeuwar- 
den.130 

The  advertisement,  translated  from  the  Dutch, 
read  as  follows : 

UNITED  STATES  OF  NORTH  AMERICA 

Mr.  Henry  Hospers,  Mayor  of  the  city  of  Pella,  in  the 
State  of  Iowa,  United  States  of  North  America,  specially 
commissioned  by  the  Board  of  Immigration  of  the  said 
State  of  Iowa,  will  remain  in  The  Netherlands  until  the  15th 
day  of  January,  A.  D.,  1871,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  de- 
tailed information  to  all  who  wish  to  emigrate  to  Iowa, 
about  the  country,  climate  and  prospects  of  said  State.  All 
letters  will  be  promptly  answered  without  charge;  and 
further  notice  will  be  given  at  what  places  and  times  per- 
sons interested  can  have  a  general  conference  with  him. 

Address:  Henry  Hospers,  Care  of  Wm.  Middelkoop. 
Esq.,  Hoog  Blokland,  near  Gorinchem. 


152  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

When  these  advertisements  appeared  in  the  news- 
papers of  Holland,  letters  began  to  pour  in  from  all 
the  provinces,  filled  with  inquiries  about  Iowa  lands. 
To  answer  all  questions  properly  would  have  neces- 
sitated the  assistance  of  several  clerks.  Hospers, 
therefore,  composed  and  published  a  pamphlet  of 
eight  pages,  entitled:  "Iowa:  Shall  I  emigrate  to 
America  ?  Practically  answered  by  a  Hollander  who 
has  resided  for  twenty-four  years  in  one  of  the  best 
States  in  the  Union."  One  thousand  of  these  pam- 
phlets were  printed  and  mailed  to  inquirers  free  of 
charge  throughout  The  Netherlands. 

Except  Saturdays,  when  he  remained  at  his  office 
to  read  and  answer  letters,  and  Sundays,  Hospers 
spent  all  of  the  time  from  the  28th  of  November, 
1870,  until  the  11th  day  of  January,  1871,  traveling 
through  The  Netherlands  and  personally  meeting 
scores  of  people  according  to  appointments  previous- 
ly made.  Thus,  he  held  five  conferences  at  Grorin- 
chem,  four  at  Rotterdam,  three  at  Amsterdam,  two 
at  Utrecht  and  Heerenveen,  and  others  at  Genderen, 
's  Hertogenbosch,  Dordrecht,  Klundert,  Axel,  Leeu- 
warden,  Dronrijp,  and  other  places.  He  reported 
that  every  imaginable  sort  of  question  was  put  to 
him  and  that  "most  of  these  conferences  were  pro- 
longed till  after  midnight". 

Invhis  message  to  the  Board  of  Immigration  in 
March,  1871,  Hospers  wrote : 

Many,  especialty  persons  with  large  families,  were  anx- 
ious to  learn  all  about  Iowa.  Parents,  surrounded  with  all 
the  comforts  of  life,  worth  from  $10,000  to  $40,000,  with 


HENRY  HOSPERS  AND  IMMIGRATION       153 

several  grown-up  children,  and  willing  to  leave  those  com- 
forts behind,  in  order  to  better  the  position  of  their  children, 
were  eager  for  information.  Several  of  this  class  will  come 
to  Iowa  this  year ;  others,  having  to  wait  till  they  sell  their 
property,  will  come  next  year. 

Mechanics  and  capitalists,  professional  men  and  owners 
of  factories,  in  fact  from  all  classes,  wrote  to  me  or  came 
to  see  me. 

My  mission  to  Holland,  I  am  sure,  will  bear  good  fruit, 
and  will  bring  to  our  noble  State  well  educated,  enterpris- 
ing, and  industrious  families.  Already  several  have  ar- 
rived, some  of  whom  have  settled  in  Marion,  and  others  in 
Sioux  County,  Iowa. 

Before  my  departure  from  Holland,  I  had  notices  in- 
serted in  some  newspapers,  giving  my  address  in  Iowa,  and 
offering  to  answer  all  letters.  Not  a  week  passes  but  what 
I  receive  letters,  eagerly  inquiring  for  information. 

The  pamphlets  published  by  your  Board  and  translated 
into  the  Dutch  language,  also  the  biennial  message  of  our 
worthy  Governor  Merrill,  have  done  a  great  deal  of  good 
and  were  read  with  much  interest.131 

Shortly  after  Hospers  returned  to  Pella  he  re- 
signed his  mayorship  and  in  May,  1871,  he  left  the 
city  to  cast  in  his  fortunes  with  the  Sioux  County 
colony  which  he  had  been  so  instrumental  in  found- 
ing. He  became  at  once  the  leading  spirit  among 
the  pioneer  farmers  of  Holland  and  Nassau  town- 
ships, a  position  which  he  held  almost  until  his  death 
in  1901.  He  continued  to  be  the  chief  promoter  of 
the  settlement  of  Sioux  County  lands.  As  notary 
public,  counsellor  at  law,  member  of  the  county 
board  of  supervisors,  and  insurance  and  land  agent, 


154  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 


he  stood  out  as  the  leader  in  the  official  and  business 
life  of  the  young  settlement  of  Hollanders. 

The  State  of  Iowa  had  thus  taken  an  active  share 
in  urging  the  best  class  of  European  emigrants  to 
buy  its  fertile  acres.  No  better  man  than  Hospers 
could  have  been  selected  to  attract  attention  to  the 
large  unoccupied  areas  in  Iowa.  Pamphlets  on  the 
resources  of  Iowa,  printed  by  legislative  authority  in 
the  Dutch  language,  especially  conduced  to  the  at- 
tainment of  this  purpose.  An  early  result  was  that 
many  Hollanders  forsook  Wisconsin  in  the  years 
1870  and  1871  to  undertake  the  life  of  pioneers  in 
Sioux  County.  Indeed,  the  coming  of  Hollanders 
and  perhaps  of  a  few  Americans  increased  the  pop- 
ulation, estimated  at  one  hundred  and  ten  in  1869,  to 
five  hundred  and  seventy-six  in  1870.132 

While  much  was  done  to  promote  immigration 
to  the  Dutch  colony  through  the  medium  of  Pella's 
Weekblad  (with  which  Hospers  remained  on  intimate 
terms  after  his  departure  from  Pella),  and  indirectly 
through  other  Dutch  newspapers  in  America,  the  re- 
ports of  men  who  were  pleased  with  the  Dutch  col- 
onies in  America  must  also  have  had  considerable 
influence.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Cohen  Stuart,  delegate  from 
The  Netherlands  to  the  Evangelical  Alliance  at  New 
York,  was  induced  by  Henry  Hospers  to  visit  Orange 
City  before  his  return  to  Holland.  This  gentleman 
afterwards  drew  on  his  experiences  in  Sioux  County 
and  declared  at  a  special  meeting  that  emigration  to 
America  was  good  for  America's  uncultivated,  fer- 
tile fields,  and  good  for  Holland:  the  man  who  re- 


HENRY  HOSrERS  AND  IMMIGRATION       155 

maiiied  in  Holland  would  have  more  air  to  breathe, 
and  the  man  of  industry,  perseverance,  and  probity 
who  went  to  America  would  enjoy  there  a  compara- 
tive measure  of  prosperity.  He  urged  further  that 
Holland  should  get  into  closer  touch  with  the  inhab- 
itants of  Dutch  settlements  in  America.133 

In  the  year  1874  Hospers  began  the  publication 
of  a  Dutch  newspaper  at  Orange  City.  He  frankly 
declared  to  the  world  that  he  would  not  have  done  so 
if  "the  good  God  had  not  placed  here  500  families 
of  people  who,  though  living  for  the  most  part  in 
mean  huts,  are  yet  without  a  care  and  own  a  very 
rich  and  fertile  soil,  so  plentiful  that  a  thousand 
more  Dutch  families  could  be  enjoying  this  gift  of 
God."  And  he  asked:  "Would  it  not  be  unchari- 
table to  conceal  the  advantages  which  we  enjoy  here, 
not  to  reveal  that  this  is  a  place  where  many  ambi- 
tious Christian  Netherlander s  may  provide  their  chil- 
dren an  independent  living?  And  to  contradict  and 
expose  to  public  contempt  the  many  misrepresenta- 
tions which  covetous  speculators  have  circulated  in 
Holland :  see  there  a  reason  why  we  have  the  courage 
to  issue  a  'Volksvriendje'  [Little  Friend  of  the  Peo- 
ple]." 

It  was,  therefore,  to  attract  the  attention  of  emi- 
grants to  this  magnificent  spot  on  God's  earth  and 
to  advertise  its  advantages  far  and  wide  that  Hos- 
pers sent  his  little  newspaper  into  the  world.  De 
Volksvriend  at  once  filled  a  want,  because  the  editor 
received  numerous  letters  of  inquiry  from  Holland 
every  week   asking  him   to    answer   the   question : 


156  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

' '  Where  shall  I  settle  ? ' '  Hospers  sent  copies  of  the 
first  issue  to  various  newspapers  in  Holland  and 
elsewhere,  requesting  the  editors  to  read  and  copy 
his  editorials  in  the  interest  of  emigration  to  Amer- 
ica, also  assuring  them  that  he  would  send  references 
as  to  his  responsibility  to  show  that  confidence  might 
be  reposed  in  what  he  wrote. 

Hospers  recommended  that  the  colonists  of 
Orange  City  should  organize  a  "Citizen's  Club",  as 
the  Dutch  of  Holland,  Michigan,  had  done  to  aid  the 
emigration  movement  in  The  Netherlands  and  to 
protect  and  promote  the  interests  of  immigrants.  In 
every  issue  of  his  paper  he  advertised  thousands  of 
acres  of  Sioux  County  land.134 

In  1875  there  appeared  from  the  press  in  Holland 
a  small  book  compiled  by  a  Dutch  resident  of  Iowa. 
The  writer  designed  it  as  a  contribution  to  enable 
emigrants  to  understand  political  and  economic  con- 
ditions in  the  United  States  and  especially  in  Iowa. 
He  declared  that  experience  had  taught  him  repeat- 
edly "how  little  trust  can  be  placed  in  most  reports 
on  North  America,  and  how  the  truth  is  most  often 
sacrificed  to  the  unscrupulous  desire  to  encourage 
immigration  and  promote  the  country's  welfare 
without  thought  or  concern  whether  such  colored 
and  exaggerated  pictures  should  render  hundreds  of 
families  miserable  for  life." 

The  same  writer  alleged  that  the  American  press 
and  even  State  Boards  of  Immigration  used  all  sorts 
of  lawful  and  unlawful  means  to  attain  their  ends, 
and  were  no  better  than  the  railroad  projectors  who 


HENRY  HOSPERS  AND  IMMIGRATION       157 

flooded  the  European  money  markets  with  fine- 
sounding  promises  which  sooner  or  later  proved  to 
be  worthless.  "For  my  part,"  he  declared,  "the 
longer  I  live  here,  the  more  regard  I  come  to  enter- 
tain for  my  countrymen,  and  I  myself  have  learned 
too  well  how  many  disappointments  and  deceptions 
one  is  exposed  to,  not  to  do  my  duty. ' '  In  conclusion 
he  said :  ' '  Therefore,  when  I  make  a  mistake,  I  do 
so  in  good  faith,  and  to  be  able  to  say  this  conscien- 
tiously is  surely  no  daily  occurrence  in  this  country." 

This  writer  came  into  correspondence  with  Henry 
Hospers  who  invited  him  to  visit  the  Dutch  colony. 
He  did  so,  and  found  it  necessary  to  give  an  accu- 
rate and  complete  account  of  the  Hollanders  in  Iowa. 
He  was  positively  convinced,  he  says,  "that  in  all  of 
North  America  there  is  no  place  where  the  Holland 
emigrant  has  better  chances  to  succeed  and  is  less 
exposed  to  disappointment  or  deception  than  in  flour- 
ishing Orange  City. ' ' 135 

In  1875  Henry  Hospers  caused  advertisements 
relative  to  Sioux  County  lands  to  be  inserted  in  sev- 
eral Dutch  newspapers,  and  in  order  to  leave  no 
doubt  as  to  his  trustworthiness  and  responsibility 
he  also  presented  affidavits  signed  by  two  county 
officers,  a  minister,  and  a  doctor.  A  characteristic 
of  all  the  letters  which  Hospers  received  from  Wis- 
consin, Michigan,  Illinois,  New  Jersey,  New  York, 
and  Holland  in  reply  to  these  advertisements  was 
the  unmistakable  desire  of  the  writers  to  leave  their 
homes  and  find  better  ones  elsewhere.  Hollanders 
were  so  closely  packed  in  the  larger  cities  such  as 


158  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

Grand  Rapids,  Grand  Haven,  Kalamazoo,  Chicago, 
Milwaukee,  Rochester,  New  York,  and  Paterson,  the 
prices  of  land  were  so  high,  and  money  was  so  scarce 
during  hard  times  not  only  among  farmers  but  also 
among  townspeople,  that  an  outlet  had  to  be  found. 
Hundreds  were  ambitious  to  do  better  for  themselves 
and  their  children.  To  them  Orange  City,  Iowa,  was 
offered  as  an  excellent  opportunity :  land  was  adver- 
tised at  from  five  dollars  to  twenty  dollars  per  acre 
on  easy  terms,  and  special  attention  was  called  to 
the  proximity  of  a  railroad,  an  advantage  of  which, 
it  was  pointed  out,  the  first  Dutch  inhabitants  of 
Michigan,  Wisconsin,  and  Pella  had  been  deprived 
for  many  years.136 

In  September,  1875,  a  committee  of  six  men  from 
Michigan  inspected  northern  Sioux  County  and 
southern  Lyon  County.  They  returned  well  satis- 
fied with  their  visit  to  this  beautiful  district.  The 
Orange  City  colony  far  surpassed  their  wildest  ex- 
pectations, for  it  had  railroad  connections  with  St. 
Paul,  Sioux  City,  St.  Louis,  Milwaukee,  Chicago, 
New  York,  and  New  Orleans.  Hospers  thereupon 
urged  all  prospective  emigrants  to  send  similar  com- 
mittees of  trustworthy  men,  and  he  prophesied  that 
they  could  come  to  but  one  conclusion :  "We  are  com- 
ing! The  half  has  not  been  told  us!"  Throughout 
these  years  Hospers  spared  no  trouble  or  expense  to 
enlarge  the  Dutch  colony  and  promote  its  prosper- 
ity.137 

Shortly  after  the  Michigan  men  had  visited  north- 
western Iowa  to  secure  land  for  a  colony,  Hospers 
declared  that  within   twelve   years    Sioux  County 


HENRY  HOSPERS  AND  IMMIGRATION       15<J 

would  be  the  most  populous  Holland  settlement  in 
the  United  States,  and  he  also  informed  the  public 
that  steps  had  been  taken  to  buy  twenty-live  thous- 
and acres  of  land  for  another  colony.  In  fact,  ten 
thousand  acres  were  purchased  near  Doon,  just 
across  the  northern  boundary  of  Sioux  County,  and 
were  occupied  by  Michigan  emigrants  in  the  spring 
of  1876.  A  number  also  settled  at  Beloit  in  Lyon 
County.  Simon  Kuyper  journeyed  to  Michigan  in 
February  to  interest  the  Dutch  in  emigration.  Judg- 
ing from  letters  of  inquiry  Hospers  expected  a  large 
accession  of  Hollanders  in  March,  1876,  from  Mich- 
igan, Illinois,  Ohio,  New  York,  New  Jersey,  Indiana, 
and  Minnesota.  In  response  to  numerous  inquiries 
he  announced  his  intention  to  buy  sixteen  sections 
of  land  in  the  Rock  River  valley,  in  the  northwestern 
part  of  the  county.  He  received  a  letter  also  from 
certain  Hollanders  who  were  tired  of  living  among 
the  Mormons  in  Utah.138 

Thus  in  every  possible  way  Henry  Hospers  ex- 
erted himself  to  attract  his  Dutch  compatriots  to 
the  settlement  which  claimed  Orange  City  as  the  cen- 
ter of  its  community  life  —  he  made  its  name  and 
fame  known  among  all  the  Hollanders  of  America 
and  Europe.  For  years  reports  of  its  excellent  ad- 
vantages as  an  agricultural  region  continued  to  be 
circulated,  and  their  truth  could  not  be  disputed.  But 
despite  all  this  tireless  industry  and  perseverance 
on  the  part  of  the  leader  of  the  colony  another 
agency  for  a  series  of  years  robbed  the  promoter, 
his  neighbors,  and  the  colony  of  the  prosperity 
which  thev  merited. 


XXIV 

LOCUST  RAVAGES  AND  YEARS  OP 
HARDSHIP 

Most  memorable  in  the  minds  of  the  Dutch  pioneers 
of  Sioux  County  are  the  years  from  1873  to  1879 
inclusive  —  a  period  which  introduced  the  Holland- 
ers to  one  of  the  worst  pests  of  the  whole  trans- 
Mississippi  region  and  revealed  once  more  the  ox- 
like  patience  so  characteristic  of  their  nation.  A 
review  of  that  period,  so  deeply  burned  into  the 
memories  of  many  of  the  people  still  living  in  the 
northwestern  counties  of  Iowa,  will  show  how  dis- 
astrous were  the  depredations  committed  by  insects 
which  were  at  one  time  more  common  than  they  are 
to-day. 

Occupying  the  greater  portion  of  three  townships, 
the  Hollanders  spent  the  first  spring  months  of  1870 
preparing  small  areas  of  their  widely  scattered 
homesteads  for  cultivation.  They  hastened  to  trans- 
form the  prairie  into  fields.  And  so  in  the  autumn 
of  1870  the  Hollanders  of  Sioux  County  gathered 
from  their  fresh-plowed  acres  a  goodly  harvest  of 
wheat,  "sod  corn",  potatoes,  and  vegetables  suffi- 
cient for  themselves  and  the  needs  of  their  live  stock. 
Where  but  a  few  months  before  there  had  been  no 
sign  of  a  human  habitation,   in  August  the   little 

160 


LOCUST  RAVAGES  161 

pioneer  houses  of  wood  and  prairie  sod  met  the  eye 
everywhere :  hundreds  of  acres  of  the  wild  but  beau- 
tiful prairie  soil  had  been  broken,  and  much  of  it  had 
been  planted.  Many  of  the  new  settlers  were  men 
with  means  sufficient  to  make  good  improvements. 
They  had  brought  many  head  of  horses,  cattle  and 
hogs,  farm  implements,  and  household  goods;  but 
most  of  them  had  barely  enough  to  make  a  start  in 
the  wo'rld.  The  energy,  however,  which  all  dis- 
played during  those  early  months  clearly  indicated 
their  intention  to  build  up  a  rich  and  prosperous 
agricultural  community. 

Success  crowned  their  industry  with  more  boun- 
tiful crops  in  the  harvest  months  of  the  years  1871 
and  1872.  The  uninhabited,  uncultivated  prairies  of 
1869  had  now  been  made  to  blossom  for  the  use  of 
man.  Once  without  roads,  without  railroads,  without 
human  habitations,  within  two  brief  years  the  Hol- 
landers had  all  of  these  improvements,  even  though 
they  were  crude  and  primitive.  The  first  settlers 
had  each  year  welcomed  fresh  accessions  of  their 
fellow-countrymen  from  Pella,  Michigan,  Minnesota, 
Wisconsin,  and  The  Netherlands.  With  only  a  few 
exceptions  these  new  colonists  were  men  of  very 
limited  means.  But  in  one  season  they  expected  to 
bring  from  forty  to  eighty  acres  under  cultivation, 
and  thus  lay  the  foundation  for  the  achievement  of 
what  they  had  reason  to  believe  would  soon  be  a  state 
of  financial  independence.  To  plow  and  otherwise 
prepare  and  sow  and  harvest  their  acres  they  needed 
capital   for  the    purchase   of  horses   and   harness, 


162  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

wagons,  plows,  and  harrows,  and  all  the  other  im- 
plements necessary  to  the  farmer's  calling. 

The  settlers,  therefore,  bought  their  machinery 
and  stock  on  credit  —  an  evil  unavoidably  bound  up 
with  the  desire  to  cultivate  land  which  lent  itself  so 
easily  to  improvement.  The  abundant  yield  of  har- 
vests in  1870,  1871,  and  1872  warranted  the  pur- 
chase of  such  necessities,  and  also  naturally  induced 
many  to  go  into  debt  to  obtain  articles  which  were 
not  necessary  for  present  purposes.  Merchants  and 
agents  who  solicited  orders  for  agricultural  imple- 
ments gladly  sold  on  credit  and  accepted  notes  be- 
cause they  had  no  doubts  of  the  honesty  of  their 
Dutch  customers  or  of  the  possibilities  of  Sioux 
County  farms.139 

In  the  spring  of  the  year  1873,  many  Dutch  pio- 
neers entertained  hopes  and  plans  for  the  improve- 
ment of  their  homes  and  farm  buildings.  Those  who 
still  lived  in  sod  houses  felt  the  need  of  better,  more 
sanitary  dwellings.  Thus  far  they  had  succeeded. 
On  the  strength  of  an  experience  covering  the  past 
three  years  and  with  dreams  of  future  prosperity 
many  rebuilt  their  houses,  and  others  made  exten- 
sive repairs.  Early  in  the  summer  they  feasted  their 
eyes  upon  luxuriant  fields  of  wheat,  flax,  corn,  and 
oats.  Such  a  glorious  sight  seemed  to  warrant  the 
building  of  new  granaries. 

The  colonists  had  already  denied  themselves  and 
their  families  many  things ;  but  now  they  felt  justi- 
fied in  buying  necessary  clothing  for  their  wives  and 
children  —  the  harvest  would  pay  for  all.  Indeed, 
dealers  in  merchandise  and  lumber  and  farm  imple- 


LOCUST  RAVAGES  163 

ments  —  all  eagerly  sold  on  credit,  for  the  Dutch 
farmer  generally  kept  his  word.  And  finally,  sonic 
of  these  colonist  land  owners  acquired  a  taste  for 
speculation.  "Would  it  not  be  a  pity",  they  argued, 
"if  we  miss  this  fine  chance  to  buy  quarter-sections 
of  excellent  railway  land  adjacent  to  our  own  home- 
steads?" Surely  the  opportunity  to  invest  in  rail- 
road lands  which  had  just  been  placed  on  the  market 
appealed  to  many.  And  so  they  bought  on  credit  at 
a  very  low  figure,  rather  than  run  the  risk  of  being 
compelled  later  on  to  buy  from  speculators.  Thus 
again  they  subscribed  their  names  to  promissory 
notes.  Debtor  and  creditor  alike  were  ready  to  look 
upon  those  promising  fields  of  grain  as  security  suffi- 
cient to  satisfy  all  obligations. 

Then  destruction,  sure  and  swift,  came  to  blast 
their  hopes.  The  Hollanders  had  counted  their  bear 
skins  too  soon.  They  had  been  building  air-castles ; 
for  like  a  clap  of  thunder  out  of  a  clear  sky,  myriads 
of  locusts  flying  southwestward  from  the  ravaged 
corn-fields  of  Minnesota  descended  like  large  flakes 
of  snow  upon  the  gardens,  haylands,  and  grain-fields 
of  the  settlers.  Within  a  few  days  they  devoured 
in  some  instances  entire  fields  of  grain,  vegetables, 
and  even  weeds  and  leaves  of  trees  and  shrubbery; 
and  when  it  seemed  as  if  hardly  a  blade  of  grass 
would  remain  to  appease  their  insatiable  hunger 
they  took  flight  and  left  behind  them  a  veritable 
desert.  In  some  fields  they  had  not  been  so  raven- 
ous as  in  others,  for  they  had  been  rather  unevenly 
distributed  upon  the  surface  of  the  country.  Never- 
theless, the  Hollanders  spent  many  melancholy  days, 


164  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

"days  of  sadness  but  also  days  of  prayer",  and  when 
they  had  gathered  in  the  harvest  of  1873  they  had 
scarcely  enough  to  supply  their  needs.  The  hard 
labor  of  the  year  had  been  swept  away  as  by  a 
breath,  and  the  reward  for  which  they  had  endured 
privation  was  snatched  out  of  their  very  hands. 

Although  some  were  not  as  hard  hit  as  others, 
the  colonists  gathered  on  an  average  only  one-fourth 
of  a  crop.  This,  coupled  with  low  prices,  resulted  in 
extremely  straitened  circumstances.  The  loss  fell 
most  heavily  on  those  who  were  least  able  to  bear 
it  —  homesteaders  who  were  raising  their  first  crop 
and  were  entirely  dependent  upon  it  for  support.  A 
great  many  were  rendered  destitute :  they  were  with- 
out clothing  or  food  sufficient  for  a  month's  supply. 
Others  had  barely  sufficient  to  carry  them  through 
the  winter,  much  less  to  tide  them  over  till  another 
harvest. 

Reports  of  their  deplorable  condition  were  tele- 
graphed from  Sioux  City  to  various  parts  of  the 
country,  and  although  considerably  exaggerated, 
they  fairly  revealed  the  destitution  which  prevailed 
in  the  northwestern  counties  of  Iowa.  In  December 
N.  B.  Baker,  Adjutant-General  of  the  State  of  Iowa, 
visited  Sioux  County  in  person  to  investigate  the 
condition  of  the  settlers.  Later  he  distributed  to 
them  money  and  clothing  which  had  been  collected 
and  received  everywhere  throughout  the  State  by 
local  homesteaders'  relief  committees.  The  Hol- 
landers of  Pella  sent  thousands  of  bushels  of  corn 
and  several  carloads  of  coal.140 


LOCUST  RAVAGES  165 

Henry  Hospers,  chairman  of  the  Sioux  County 
board  of  supervisors,  sent  out  letters  asking  for 
''provisions,  money,  clothing  (even  half- worn  cloth- 
ing), ladies'  and  childrens'  wear,  and  blankets",  es- 
pecially for  settlers  in  the  northern  and  western 
parts  of  the  county  where  the  suffering  was  most 
marked.  Although  a  Sioux  City  newspaper  in- 
veighed against  this  policy,  pronouncing ' '  it  a  swindle 
on  the  people  of  Iowa,  and  a  disgrace  to  the  inde- 
pendent yeomanry  of  Sioux  County  to  have  Mr.  Hos- 
pers begging  for  them,  while  they  live  in  Sioux  Coun- 
ty, a  land  of  plenty,  and  have  the  right  and  lawful 
authority  to  help  themselves",  conditions  in  all  of 
northwestern  Iowa  were  really  so  bad  that  the  State 
as  well  as  the  people  of  Iowa  contributed  many  thou- 
sands of  dollars  to  enable  the  unfortunate  settlers  to 
purchase  the  necessities  of  life  and  to  secure  seed 
for  spring  sowing.141 

Both  houses  of  the  General  Assembly  of  the  State 
of  Iowa  considered  the  question  of  the  destitution  in 
the  northwestern  counties.  Governor  Carpenter 
placed  before  them  all  the  facts  relative  to  the  con- 
dition of  the  people,  including  a  resolution  of  the 
board  of  supervisors  of  Sioux  County  and  a  letter 
from  Mr.  Hospers.142 

A  committee  of  five  legislators,  appointed  to  in- 
vestigate the  reports  of  destitution,  performed  their 
work  thoroughly,  as  is  shown  by  their  excellent  re- 
port: 

Your  Committee  visited  the  counties  of  Sioux,  O'Brien 
and  Osceola,  and  while  absent  also  gave  audience  to  repre- 


166  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 


sentative  delegations  of  citizens  from  Lyon,  Plymouth  and 
other  counties.  Timely  notice  of  public  meetings  at  Orange 
City  in  Sioux  county,  Sibley  in  Osceola  county,  and  Shel- 
don in  O'Brien  county,  was  given,  and  at  each  of  the  points 
named  your  Committee  met  from  two  hundred  and  fifty  to 
three  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  anxious  and  distressed  men 
of  the  afflicted  district.  Considering  the  sparsely  populated 
character  of  the  country,  these  audiences  were  a  matter  of 
surprise  to  your  Committee.  It  only  requires  to  be  stated 
that  many  of  those  in  attendance  came  from  twenty-five  to 
forty  miles  across  the  prairies  to  meet  your  representatives, 
braving  the  dangers  of  the  season,  augmented  by  the  fact 
that  many  were  thinly  clad,  and  that  but  few  had  means  to 
buy  a  meal  of  victuals,  to  fully  indicate  to  your  honorable 
body  the  painful  interest  felt  by  the  people  as  to  the  action 
of  the  State  in  the  matter  of  affording  them  the  relief  the 
extremity  of  their  situation  demands. 

It  is  a  matter  of  satisfaction  to  your  Committee  to  say 
that  the  men  met  at  these  gatherings  gave  every  indication 
of  being  as  deserving,  intelligent,  industrious,  provident  a 
class  of  citizens  as  would  likely  be.  brought  together  in  any 
quarter  of  the  State.  They  impressed  your  Committee  as 
being  men  not  likely  to  depend  upon  charity,  or  as  willing 
to  accept  charity,  when  by  any  means  they  could  work  out 
their  own  deliverance. 

In  addition  to  eliciting  facts  intended  to  satisfy  the 
General  Assembly  as  to  the  necessity  for  State  aid,  your 
Committee  carefully  examined  the  question  as  to  the  ability 
of  the  counties  to  afford  the  assistance  needed.  The  facts 
thus  brought  out  are  briefly  incorporated  in  subsequent 
paragraphs  of  this  report,  and  it  is  thought  that  they  demon- 
strate with  the  utmost  clearness  the  total  inability  of  the 


LOCUST  RAVAGES  167 

local  authorities  to  meet  the  demands  of  the  existing  emer- 
gency. 

Then  follow  brief  reports  on  the  history  and 
finances  of  Sioux,  Osceola,  O'Brien,  and  Lyon  coun- 
ties: 

The  four  counties  named  embrace  the  heart  of  the  desti- 
tute district ;  and  while  other  counties  to  more  or  less  extent 
suffered  from  the  invasion  of  grasshoppers,  and  other  un- 
usual inflictions,  your  Committee  did  not  deem  a  rigid  ex- 
amination of  other  localities  essential  to  the  discharge  of  the 
duties  entrusted  to  their  hands.  In  the  counties  specifically 
referred  to,  however,  the  Committee  labored  to  develop  the 
substantial  facts,  feeling  assured  that  the  test  here  applied 
would  answer  as  relative  truth  as  to  other  and  neighboring 
counties,  and  afford  ample  information  upon  which  to  base 
intelligent  action  on  the  part  of  the  General  Assembly. 

The  Committee  then  referred  to  the  unexpected 
devastation  of  the  fields  of  the  settlers,  and  contin- 
ued: 

Their  pluck  sustained  them  for  a  time,  and  even  yet  a 
man  is  occasionally  met  who  refused  to  consult  the  relief 
committee.  But  the  great  majority  in  the  more  afflicted 
portion  of  the  unfortunate  district  have  been  compelled  to 
accept  aid  —  for  life  is  more  than  pride.  Many  who  have 
thus  far  got  along  without  aid  have  sold  their  last  bushel 
of  grain,  and  are  now  quite  powerless  to  seed  their  land 
without  assistance  from  some  source.  Either  in  the  matter 
of  subsistence  or  seed,  propositions  for  relief  have  uniform- 
ly been  the  last  to  find  acceptance. 

Your  Committee  spent  some  time  in  riding  over  the  great 
sweeps  of  prairie,  snow-clad  and  desolate,  visiting  the  peo- 
ple in  their  houses.    None  of  their  residences  are  extrava- 


168  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

gant,  and  seldom  embrace  more  than  one  room.  A  majority 
of  them  are  neat,  though  rough,  having  little  furniture 
aside  from  such  articles  as  the  man  of  the  house  could 
manufacture.  Some  of  the  houses  are  made  of  sod,  with 
straw  roofs,  in  which  floors  other  than  the  hard  ground  may 
be  absent.  A  few  pounds  of  flour,  or  a  little  meal,  with  pos- 
sibly a  little  pork  of  some  kind,  generally  comprised  the 
stock  of  provisions  —  with  no  hope  beyond  the  good  hearts 
of  the  more  fortunate  people  of  Iowa  for  fresh  supplies. 
Nevertheless  the  people  are  generally  cheerful ;  and  if  any 
one  expects  to  find  a  wail  of  perpetual  lamentation  he 
might  as  well  look  outside  ''the  grasshopper  district"  as 
within  it.  The  men  and  women  there  stand  up  squarely,  in 
the  full  dignity  of  their  muscular  development,  and  say, 
' '  We  only  ask  for  a  reasonable  chance  for  our  lives ! ' '  And 
they  evidently  have  faith  sufficient  in  the  people  of  Iowa  to 
believe  that  this  they  shall  have. 

The  relief  supplies  as  far  as  your  Committee  could 
judge,  have  been  wisely  used ;  and  that  they  have  prevented 
actual  starvation,  your  Committee  are  constrained  to  be- 
lieve. It  is  all  important  that  these  supplies  should  be  con- 
tinued ;  and  your  Committee  feel  impelled  to  say  that  they 
can  hardly  be  continued  too  liberally. 

The  great  concern  of  the  settlers  at  the  present  time  is 
seed ;  and  it  was  the  anxiety  of  the  people  on  this  score  that 
brought  so  many  from  near  and  far  to  meet  your  Committee 
in  the  gatherings  before  alluded  to.  Their  painful  anxiety 
over  this  great  issue  is  easily  discerned ;  and  their  suspense, 
in  view  of  the  near  approach  of  seeding  time,  may  be  put 
down  as  among  their  chief  sufferings.  Your  Committee  esti- 
mate that  aid  is  needed  to  seed  over  100,000  acres  of  land, 
and  while  it  is  not  regarded  as  possible  to  afford  all  the  re- 
lief desired,  the  Committee  is  clearly  of  the  opinion  that  an 


LOCUST  RAVAGES  169 

appropriation  should  be  made  to  meet  the  emergency  to  the 
extent  possible. 

The  Committee  reported  that  the  land  in  north- 
western Iowa  was  certainly  as  good  as  any  in  the 
State,  and  that  the  settlers  had  "unbounded  confi- 
dence in  their  ability  to  succeed".  To  enable  these 
people  to  seed  their  lands,  to  defray  the  expense  of 
purchasing,  transporting,  and  distributing  the  seed, 
and  to  provide  feed  for  their  teams  (generally  re- 
duced in  flesh  and  unable  to  perform  the  required 
labor  without  grain),  an  appropriation  to  the  amount 
of  $120,000  was  recommended,  the  committee  sug- 
gesting that  this  amount  be  offered  in  the  form  of  a 
loan,  a  policy  most  acceptable  to  the  settlers,  as  they 
emphatically  stated  they  did  not  desire  a  donation. 
The  recommendation  was  made  "not  simply  as  a 
matter  of  humanity,  not  simply  as  a  matter  of  duty 
to  a  suffering  people ;  but  as  a  matter  of  justice  to 
men  who  are  engaged  in  the  work  of  reducing  one  of 
the  fairest  portions  of  Iowa  from  the  wilderness  — 
as  a  matter  of  profit  to  the  State  at  large."  143  Ac- 
cordingly, in  the  month  of  February,  1874,  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  appropriated  $50,000  for  the  purchase 
of  seed,  grain,  and  vegetables,  and  provided  for  the 
appointment  of  commissioners  to  distribute  articles 
of  relief  and  disburse  the  money.144 

Though  some  of  the  Dutch  settlers  had  lost  more 
heavily  than  others,  it  is  reported  that  when  promis- 
sory notes  became  due,  even  those  who  had  not  suf- 
fered severely  from  the  locust  visitation  invented 
pitiful  grasshopper  stories  as  a  means  of  stalling 


170  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

their  creditors.  Undoubtedly  the  grasshopper  never 
had  more  debts  loaded  upon  him  than  in  the  year 
1873.  All  alike  hoped  that  the  next  harvest  /would 
provide,  and  so  the  payment  of  debts  was  postponed 
till  that  better  time  should  arrive. 

The  ardor  of  the  Dutch  farmers  was  not  cooled 
by  the  disaster  of  1873.  They  proceeded  to  break 
more  prairie,  for  the  railroad  lands  which  they  had 
bought  needed  to  be  plowed.  In  the  spring  of  1874 
they  purchased  as  much  farm  machinery  as  at  any 
previous  time.  They  sowed  thousands  of  acres  with 
wheat,  and  in  June,  as  in  the  year  before,  they  anti- 
cipated a  tremendous  return  for  their  toil. 

One  Sunday  morning  in  July,  while  the  settlers 
were  at  church,  a  north  wind  again  bore  countless 
millions  of  locusts  from  Minnesota.  Millions  on  mil- 
lions of  the  insects  poured  down  upon  a  strip  of 
country  estimated  at  from  forty  to  sixty  miles  in 
length.  They  covered  the  earth  so  thickly  that  it 
seemed  as  if  every  vestige  of  vegetation  would  be 
destroyed  at  once.  With  the  exception  of  oats  and 
early  wheat  which  had  been  reaped,  one  pioneer  de- 
clared that  ' '  by  Monday  morning  all  our  crops  were 
stripped  and  gone".  On  Thursday  morning  when 
the  sky  was  cleared  of  clouds  and  a  wind  sprang  up 
from  the  north,  the  swarming  myriads  of  locusts  took 
wing  for  the  south,  and  disappeared  almost  entirely 
within  two  hours. 

Reports  of  this  visit  of  the  locusts  were  despatch- 
ed from  East  Orange  and  Hospers  in  Sioux  County, 
and  although  the  loss  entailed  was  not  so  great  as 


LOCUST  RAVAGES  171 

that  of  the  previous  year,  and  although  some  iields 
were  entirely  unmolested,  hardly  one-half  of  the 
crop  was  harvested.  Indian  corn  produced  an  aver- 
age yield  of  five  bushels  to  the  acre.  This  loss, 
together  with  the  low  market  prices  paid  for  farm 
products,  pressed  so  hard  upon  the  Hollanders  that 
some  gave  up  in  discouragement  and  departed, 
while  others  were  ready  and  eager  to  sell  their  lands 
for  a  merely  nominal  sum  of  money.  An  old  settler 
subsequently  related  that  "in  one  instance  a  man  got 
so  disgusted  that  he  sold  his  80  acres  for  $225,  throw- 
ing in  a  span  of  mules,  wagon,  and  cow."  :45 

The  devastations  wrought  by  the  Colorado  or 
Rocky  Mountain  locusts,  as  they  were  called,  were 
so  widespread  in  certain  Iowa  and  Minnesota  coun- 
ties that  Congress  passed  an  act  which  made  it  law- 
ful for  homestead  and  preemption  settlers  to  leave 
and  be  absent  from  their  lands  in  those  counties  un- 
til May  1,  1875,  "under  such  regulations  as  to  proof 
of  the  same  as  the  Commissioner  of  the  General 
Land  Office  may  prescribe."  The  act  further  pro- 
vided that  during  such  absence  no  adverse  rights 
should  attach  to  the  lands,  and  settlers  should  be 
allowed  "to  resume  and  perfect  their  settlements  as 
though  no  such  absence  had  been  enjoyed  or  al- 
lowed", an  exemption  which  was  extended  "to  those 
making  settlements  in  1874,  and  suffering  the  same 
destruction  of  crops  as  those  making  settlement  of 
1873,  or  any  previous  year."  14G 

Referring  to  the  exodus  from  Kansas  and  Ne- 
braska, which  was  witnessed  every  day  on  the  public 


172  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

thoroughfares,  as  abundant  evidence  of  the  discour- 
agement of  many  citizens  in  those  States  and  in 
parts  of  Iowa  and  Minnesota,  an  editorial  writer  in 
one  of  the  leading  newspapers  of  Iowa  concluded 
as  follows: 

Providence  does  not  intend  that  the  largest  tract  of  rich 
agricultural  land  in  the  world  shall  be  devastated  and  ren- 
dered uninhabitable.  These  marauding  insects  were  in- 
tended for  the  barren  mountain  fastnesses,  and  if  occasion- 
ally they  break  over  their  bounds,  it  should  be  considered 
like  all  other  demonstrations  of  Providence.  Without 
winds  the  atmosphere  would  become  stagnant  and  destruc- 
tive of  life,  yet  they  often  destroy  man's  fairest  fabrics. 
Rains  come  to  sustain  animal  and  vegetable  life,  yet  they 
frequently  sweep  away  man  and  his  works.  Electricity  per- 
forms many  and  valuable  agencies  in  nature's  economy, 
still  it  at  times  fills  the  mind  of  man  with  terror  at  its  de- 
structive power.  Fear  not,  this  rich  inheritance  will  pro- 
duce enough  for  man,  even  though  once  in  a  decade,  locusts, 
drouth  or  flood  should  partially  sweep  the  crops  away. 
Study  more  thoroughly  their  history  and  habits,  and  pre- 
pare, like  the  Mormons,  for  the  emergencies  that  beset  the 
land  adopted  for  our  homes.  It  is  not  probable  any  part  of 
Iowa  will  be  disturbed  again  for  seven  or  ten  years.  In  the 
meantime,  instead  of  all  wheat  or  corn  our  farmers  will 
have  a  greater  variety  of  crops  and  stock  on  which  to  rely 
if  any  branch  of  their  business  should  be  devoured  by  in- 
sects, drouth  or  flood.147 

Discouragement  was  so  epidemic  among  the  Hol- 
landers of  Sioux  County  in  the  fall  of  1874  that,  had 
it  not  been  for  the  wise  counsel  and  cheerfulness  of 
Henry  Hospers,  Eev.  Seine  Bolks,  and  other  influ- 


LOCUST  RAVAGES  173 

ential  men,  the  colony  would  probably  have  disap- 
peared as  a  Dutch  community.  During  those  days 
of  gloom  there  appeared  in  Hospers'  Dutch  newspa- 
per a  lengthy  editorial,  the  purpose  of  which  was 
to  counteract  the  bad  effects  of  the  locust  scourge 
and  to  exhort  the  people  not  to  lose  courage.  "Pres- 
ent conditions",  wrote  the  editor,  "do  not  detract 
from  the  indisputable  and  generally  recognized 
truth  that  we  have  received  here  a  bit  of  soil  which 
cannot  be  surpassed  in  richness  and  fertility,  in 
healthfulness  of  climate,  and  in  its  suitability  for 
Hollanders.  Neither  grasshoppers  nor  inevitable 
debt  which  now  oppresses  us  can  belie  this." 

Then  Hospers  proceeded  to  draw  a  picture  of  the 
progress  of  the  community: 

More  than  400  families  have  settled  here;  more  than 
15,000  acres  are  under  cultivation ;  fifteen  neat  frame  school- 
houses  grace  various  parts  of  our  county;  good  roads  have 
been  laid  out ;  the  Sioux  City  and  St.  Paul  Railroad  runs 
squarely  across  our  colony.  East  Orange  and  Hospers  are 
two  flourishing  stations  in  our  settlement.  Orange  City, 
the  county  seat  and  center  of  our  colony,  has  a  pretty 
court-house,  large  church  parsonage,  five  stores,  two  hotels, 
and  forty  residences:  see  there  what  has  been  done  in  five 
years'  time. 

Can  any  other  settlement  offer  a  better  record  ?  Dark 
shadows,  wrestlings,  difficulties,  adversity,  and  much  priva- 
tion also  comprised  a  chapter  in  our  colony's  history.  To 
deny  this  would  be  foolish,  and  whatever  the  discourage- 
ment we  now  experience :  we  had  expected  worse ;  and  it  is 
far  less  terrible  than  that  of  the  first  colonists  of  Pella, 
Michigan  and  Wisconsin. 


174  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

And  in  conclusion  the  writer  asked: 

Is  our  settlement  inherently  less  valuable  than  former- 
ly? Can  we  not  reasonably  expect  a  rich  and  blessed  fu- 
ture? The  Lord  who  planted  this  colony  will  cause  it  to 
flourish.  Debts  may  oppress  us,  but  they  cannot  deprive  us 
of  our  fertile  lands !  And  how  much  good  we  have !  We 
enjoy  good  health  —  we  have  an  abundance  of  the  neces- 
saries of  life.  Wherever  else  we  might  be,  we  should  be 
burdened  with  debt  there  no  less  than  here.  We  conclude 
with  the  earnest  solicitation  that  all  who  wish  to  emigrate 
should  come  to  see  us ! 

Hospers  also  strongly  urged  all  his  fellow-col- 
onists to  deal  honestly,  carefully,  and  judiciously 
and  to  pay  off  their  debts  as  rapidly  as  possible. 
He  suggested  that  they  should  first  look  after  the 
needs  of  their  families  and  their  live  stock,  and  buy 
seed  for  the  next  year's  crop;  then  pay  what  they 
owed  their  neighbors  in  town  and  country ;  and  last- 
ly remove  their  written  promises  to  pay  for  farm 
machinery.  Early  in  the  year  1875,  to  show  that 
they  were  not  the  only  sufferers,  Sioux  County  Hol- 
landers were  requested  to  donate  what  they  could 
to  alleviate  distress  among  the  Hollanders  in  Kan- 
sas.148 

In  1875  the  Hollanders  were  blessed  with  a  splen- 
did harvest,  although  considerable  grain,  especially 
wheat,  was  destroyed  by  storms  and  heavy  rains. 
Additional  loss  was  occasioned  by  prairie  fires  which 
often  spread  into  stubble  fields  consuming  stacks  of 
grain.  Farmers  were  thus  taught  not  to  burn  their 
prairie  grass,  not  only  on  account  of  the  danger  of 


LOCUST  RAVAGES  175 

property  loss  and  punishment  according  to  law,  but 
also  because  "it  makes  our  prairie  hills  look  so  bar- 
ren —  besides  grass  catches  snow  and  prevents  rob- 
beries, and  snow-covered  prairies  are  healthier  and 
warmer."  Though  the  hated,  omnivorous  grass- 
hoppers were  hatched  from  eggs  deposited  in  the 
land  in  1874,  they  did  not  cause  much  damage  in  the 
summer  of  1875.  The  era  of  better  times  served  to 
cheer  the  population  as  nothing  else  could,  but  it 
also  made  creditors  more  clamorous.  Newspapers 
in  the  colony  contained  numerous  notices  not  only 
requesting  the  payment  of  debts  but  also  advertis- 
ing sheriff's  sales  of  land  for  unpaid  taxes. 

Discouragement  still  prevailed  in  many  quarters, 
and  an  Orange  City  editor  advised  farmers  not  to 
dispose  of  their  homes  too  hurriedly,  adding:  "In 
a  year  or  two  you  will  have  the  best  land  that  sun 
ever  shone  upon,  particularly  in  the  northern  part 
of  the  county.  Our  land  is  just  beginning  to  receive 
attention  from  Eastern  homeseekers,  and  soon  this 
raw,  wild  land  will  be  converted  into  miniature  gar- 
dens. Churches  and  schools  will  also  come  to  you 
in  a  little  while.  Only  live  so  that  your  name  will 
not  appear  upon  every  slip  of  paper  —  we  mean  a 
note  —  so  that  you  will  not  be  forced  to  sell  your 
wheat  until  you  can  get  a  good  price,  and  then  you 
will  be  happy  and  prosperous."  149 

Hope  was  at  low  ebb,  however,  among  the  Dutch 
pioneers  during  the  winter  of  1875.  Once  more  in 
the  spring  and  early  summer  of  1876  they  had  visions 
of  an  abundant  harvest,  when  once  more  in  June  a 


176  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

plague  of  locusts  settled  as  a  blight  upon  their  fields. 
For  ten  days  they  ravaged  the  farms,  playing  havoc 
with  the  crops  of  some  settlers  while  scarcely  touch- 
ing the  fields  of  others.  So  serious  was  the  damage 
done  that  settlers  in  the  northern  part  of  Sioux 
County  emigrated  to  escape  forever  a  pest  which 
had  recurred  too  often.  Everything  possible  was 
done  to  inspire  the  disaffected  Hollanders  with 
courage  and  patience,  but  very  often  without  avail. 

In  June,  1877,  the  locust  eggs  which  had  been 
laid  in  the  soil  the  year  before  had  hatched  so  plen- 
tifully that  practically  all  small  grain  crops  were 
destroyed.  Driven  to  desperation  some  Hollanders 
tried  every  reasonable  means  to  exterminate  the  pest, 
but  without  success.  They  constructed  a  sort  of 
large  sheet-iron  pan  sixteen  feet  long,  three  feet 
wide,  with  one  side  two  feet  high,  and  into  it  they 
poured  tar  and  petroleum.  As  this  apparatus  was 
drawn  over  the  surface  of  the  fields,  millions  of 
grasshoppers  flew  into  it  and  were  killed,  and  yet 
the  pest  was  not  appreciably  diminished.  Despite 
wide-spread  devastations  in  1877,  the  Hollanders 
were  thankful  to  have  enough  left  to  supply  their 
immediate  needs. 

In  1878  the  hopes  and  labors  of  the  pioneers  of 
Sioux  County  were  rewarded  with  a  heavy  crop, 
although  considerable  damage  had  been  done  by"  vio- 
lent rain  storms  which  flattened  out  many  fields  of 
grain  so  that  reaping  and  harvesting  had  to  be  ef- 
fected by  means  of  grass-mowers  and  hay  rakes. 
When  the  dreaded  locusts  arrived  again  for  their 


LOCUST  RAVAGES  177 

annual  visit  in  September,  little  harm  could  be  done : 
the  worst  they  could  do  was  to  deposit  their  eggs. 
When  the  drouth  of  1879  had  successfully  hatched 
these,  and  after  furious  storms  had  caused  much  loss 
in  June  and  July,  the  deadly  enemy  had  left  little  of 
wheat,  oats,  and  other  small  grain  crops.  Follow- 
ing the  departure  of  this  locust  brood,  there  came 
a  terrific  hurricane  to  cap  the  climax  of  the  season's 
direful  destruction.150 

Such  a  gauntlet  of  years  of  bad  fortune  tried 
the  mettle  of  the  Hollanders  and  required  nothing 
short  of  heroism.  To  the  present  generation  it  ap- 
pears as  if  those  Hollanders  who  survived  the  ter- 
rible ordeal  and  clung  to  their  homesteads  possessed 
superhuman  patience.  Their  descendants  and  the 
farmers  of  to-day  who  have  never  undergone  such 
harrowing  pioneer  experiences  can  perhaps  never 
fully  realize  how  human  beings  could  steel  their 
hearts  to  endure  such  stinging  defeats  for  a  series  of 
years  and  not  surrender.  To  be  sure,  many  of  the 
settlers  did  not  resist  the  temptation  to  sell  their 
homesteads  for  a  trifle,  and  very  many  who  remained 
did  so  only  because  they  could  do  nothing  else. 
Farmers  hopelessly  in  debt,  business  men  with 
thousands  of  dollars  credited  upon  the  pages  of  their 
books  of  account,  and  money  borrowed  at  extortion- 
ate rates  of  interest  upon  the  best  security  —  such 
were  some  of  the  facts  which  characterized  the  first 
years  of  financial  stringency  among  the  Dutch 
pioneers  of  the  Orange  City  colony. 

The  present  generation  of  farmers  in  that  pros- 


173  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

perous  community  will  never  know  how  much  their 
fathers  owed  to  those  few  sturdy  business  men  who 
labored  hard,  kept  their  community  from  starvation, 
and  maintained  their  own  credit.  Had  it  not  been 
for  the  ministrations  of  such  leaders  as  the  pastor 
of  the  colony,  Rev.  Bolks,  and  their  principal  finan- 
cial agent,  Henry  Hospers,  very  many  Hollanders 
who  later  prospered  would  have  surrendered  their 
holdings  in  disgust  and  sought  homes  elsewhere. 

During  the  first  decade  of  its  history,  therefore, 
the  Dutch  colonists  in  Sioux  County  passed  through 
a  period  of  trials  and  tribulations  such  as  few  pion- 
eers have  been  called  upon  to  bear.  They  saw  their 
population  dwindling  in  numbers,  but  their  leaders 
never  lost  faith  in  the  quality  of  their  soil  and  be- 
lieved that  God  would  yet  bless  them  with  rich  har- 
vests: their  judgment  was  vindicated.  Those  who 
endured  the  locust  depredations  as  they  came,  and 
remained  upon  their  farms  have  never  since  found 
any  reason  to  regret  it.  On  the  contrary,  they  or 
their  children  are  now  the  proud  possessors  of  lands 
which  money  can  hardly  buy,  and  many  who  left 
Sioux  County  then  to  seek  better  fortune  elsewhere 
bewail  the  fact  that  they  did  not  stay  to  invest  their 
labor  and  capital  in  land  which  has  come  to  be  the 
most  valuable  in  the  State  of  Iowa. 


XXV 

TWENTY-FIVE  YEARS  OF  OxROWTH  IN  THE 
ORANGE  CITY  COLONY 

Duking  the  decade  from  1870  to  1880  the  growth  of 
the  new  settlement  in  Sioux  County  was  not  especial- 
ly encouraging,  and  yet  the  population  of  Sioux 
County  increased  from  575  in  1870  to  2872  in  1873, 
to  3220  in  1875,  and  to  5426  in  1880.  This  was 
indeed  a  rapid  increase,  considering  the  destruction 
of  crops  year  after  year.  How  many  of  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  county  were  Hollanders  it  would  be 
difficult  to  estimate.  Judging  from  the  fact  that 
the  number  of  foreign-born  Netherlander  in  Iowa,  a 
total  of  4513  in  1870,  had  risen  to  only  4743  in 
1880,  few  foreign-born  Hollanders  settled  in  Marion 
and  Sioux  counties.  Many  American-born  Holland- 
ers, however,  had  immigrated  to  Sioux  County  from 
other  States  of  the  Middle  West.151 

The  establishment  of  Holland  Township  gave  a 
decided  impetus  to  the  settlement  of  vacant  public 
lands  in  Sioux  County.  Of  the  inhabitants  in  1870, 
only  one  hundred  and  sixteen  were  foreign-born  Hol- 
landers ;  but  these  with  Pella-born  Hollanders  prob- 
ably comprised  a  majority  of  the  population.  The 
village  of  Orange  City  contained  fifty  inhabitants  in 
1871  and  ninety-six  in  1873,  when  there  were  also  two 

179 


180  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

other  small  villages,  East  Orange  and  Hospers,  sta- 
tions on  the  St.  Paul  and  Sioux  City  Railway.  Hol- 
land and  Nassau  townships  contained  a  majority  of 
the  people  of  Sioux  County  in  1873  (about  1500 
souls)  most  of  whom  were  Dutch.  In  1872  Orange 
City  was  selected  as  the  county  seat.152 

The  Hollanders  were  reported  to  have  taken  the 
greater  portion  of  five  townships  in  1870;  and  a 
traveler  afterward  roughly  estimated  the  size  of 
the  Dutch  settlement  at  fifteen  miles  square,  though 
much  of  the  land  still  belonged  to  railroad  companies 
and  speculators.  A  Keokuk  newspaper  man  de- 
scribed his  visit  to  Sioux  County  in  1874  as  follows : 

Five  hundred  families  now  live  about  the  county  seat, 
Orange  City.  These  Hollanders  are  thrifty,  industrious 
people,  honest  and  sober,  and. with  the  accessions  to  their 
number  which  are  constantly  being  made  from  the  old  coun- 
try, will  make  Sioux  County  bloom  and  blossom  with  wheat, 
etc.,  if  not  with  roses.  The  Dutch  have  taken  Sioux  County 
as  effectually  as  they  have  Holland.  Since  going  in  they 
have  changed  the  county  seat,  which  the  old  manipulators 
do  not  like.  They  are  building  a  new  court  house,  new 
bridges,  churches,  etc.  They  are  going  in  for  a  new  deal 
generally.  Hospers  is  chairman  of  the  Board  of  County 
Commissioners,  as  he  would  seem  to  be  entitled,  being  the 
father  of  the  colony.  Betten  is  county  Treasurer,  another 
Pella  Dutchman,  and  Dingman  keeps  the  hotel,  runs  the 
mail  bus,  etc.153 

During  the  early  years  of  the  settlement  the  Hol- 
landers transformed  the  appearance  of  the  country 
so  that  what  had  once  been  an  ocean-like  expanse  of 


GROWTH  IN  THE  ORANGE  CITY  COLONY    181 

prairie  became  dotted  here  and  there  with  little 
groves.  Nearly  every  homesteader  planted  from  one 
to  five  acres  of  trees  —  a  work  which  entitled  him  to 
have  one  hundred  dollars  for  every  acre  of  trees  de- 
ducted for  ten  years  from  the  assessed  valuation  of 
all  his  real  and  personal  property,  provided  he  did 
not  plant  trees  farther  than  eight  feet  apart  and  kept 
them  in  a  healthy  and  growing  condition.  Similarly, 
those  who  set  out  fruit  trees  not  farther  than  thirty 
feet  apart  were  to  be  exempted  for  five  years  from 
taxation  on  fifty  dollars  for  each  acre  so  planted. 
Thus  tax-payers  among  the  Hollanders  received  a 
powerful  incentive  to  plant  many  acres  with  forest 
and  fruit  trees.154 

This  offer  of  a  premium  or  bounty  by  the  State, 
as  well  as  the  need  of  some  protection  against  the 
icy  blasts  and  blizzards  of  winter  and  the  heat  of 
summer,  stimulated  the  planting  of  trees  such  as  cot- 
tonwoods,  soft  maples,  box-elders,  Lombardy  pop- 
lars, and  willows,  all  of  which  grew  rapidly  upon 
Sioux  County  soil.  As  a  rule  the  Dutch  pioneers 
planted  these  trees  to  the  north  and  west  of  their 
houses  and  yards.  When  little  artificial  groves  be- 
gan to  appear  upon  the  homesteads,  the  bleak  prairie 
for  miles  in  every  direction  lost  much  of  its  distinc- 
tively monotonous  aspect. 

The  legislature  of  the  State  of  Iowa  desired  to 
promote  not  only  the  production  of  timber,  so  that 
fence  posts  and  fence  rails  might  later  be  obtained  in 
abundance,  but  also  wished  to  encourage  the  growth 
of  hedges  as  an  excellent  substitute  for  rail  fences 


182  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

and  barbed  wire.  As  the  land  in  Sioux  County  be- 
came settled  and  more  and  more  was  brought  under 
cultivation,  great  damage  resulted  to  growing  crops 
from  the  invasions  of  live  stock.  To  protect  the 
crops  the  Sioux  County  board  of  supervisors  sub- 
mitted to  the  voters  a  State  law  which  permitted 
property  owners  to  distrain  "stock  taken  in  the  act 
of  doing  damage,  between  the  hours  of  sunset  and 
sunrise";  and  so  the  "Herd  Law"  was  adopted  in 
the  autumn  of  1874. 

When  the  general  custom  of  letting  cattle,  horses, 
hogs,  and  sheep  run  at  large  and  wander  where  they 
liked  was  thus  brought  to  an  end,  farmers  in  the  new 
Dutch  settlement  were  forced  either  to  build  fences 
or  to  keep  an  eye  on  their  stock.  Then  it  was  that 
men  advertised  their  readiness  to  herd  cattle  and 
horses  during  the  summer.  One  Hollander  secured 
a  large  area  of  rich  grass  land  in  the  Rock  River 
valley  and  requested  contracts;  while  another  of- 
fered to  begin  herding  at  two  dollars  per  head  as 
soon  as  the  grass  permitted  and  to  continue  until 
the  first  of  October.155 

During  the  summer  of  1875,  when  promising  farm 
conditions  prevailed  in  Sioux  County,  the  Orange 
City  settlement  claimed  468  families  or  about  2500 
people.  There  were  good  buildings,  flourishing  little 
groves,  excellent  gardens,  and  splendid  fields  of 
grain.  The  Hollanders  subscribed  $800  for  a  gen- 
uine Dutch  wind-mill.  As  long  as  this  old-fashioned 
mill  ground  their  wheat  into  flour  it  was  the  one  fea- 
ture of  the  landscape  which  told  the  world  of  the 


GROWTH  IN  THE  ORANGE  CITY  COLONY    183 

colony's  nationality.  But  it  was  soon  dismantled 
and  supplanted  by  a  modern  steam  roller-mill.  As 
one  pioneer  suggested  afterward,  it  deserved  a  bet- 
ter fate  and  should  have  been  preserved  as  a  land- 
mark, as  a  monument  to  the  early  settlers,  and 
around  it  a  park  should  have  been  laid  out  where  old 
settlers'  picnics  and  other  community  celebrations 
could  have  been  held.156 

In  the  autumn  of  1875,  when  the  Dutch  farmers 
were  rewarded  with  a  really  tremendous  harvest,  the 
most  memorable  incident,  suggestive  of  the  com- 
munity of  interest  and  blood  relationship  among  the 
Hollanders  of  Iowa,  was  a  big  excursion  from  Pella 
to  Orange  City,  a  repetition  of  a  journey  taken  two 
years  before.  The  proposed  jaunt  was  advertised 
at  a  round-trip  rate  of  $5.50,  provided  at  least  two 
hundred  and  twenty-five  persons  availed  themselves 
of  the  opportunity,  and  a  brass  band  was  scheduled 
to  accompany  the  party.  An  Orange  City  editor 
urged  that  an  elaborate  reception  be  tendered  to  the 
guests.  "Get  quartettes  together,"  he  said,  "put 
your  organs  in  shape,  string  your  violins,  get  out 
your  flags  and  prepare  garlands  of  flowers !  Orange 
greets  Pella:     Welcome,  thrice  welcome ! " 

When  the  excursion  had  to  be  postponed  once 
owing  to  bad  weather,  the  following  letter  appeared 
in  the  Dutch  newspaper  at  Orange  City,  in  answer 
to  "Mother's"  letter: 

Glad  you  are  coming.  Do  take  good  care  of  the  chil- 
dren—  tie  little  strings  to  their  hats.  Don't  bring  any 
presents  —  you  may  bring  along  a  few  little  car-loads  of 


184  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

lean  pigs  —  they  can  eat  our  corn  and  we  can  then  butcher 
and  eat  them.  My  boys  will  be  busy  stacking  wheat,  making 
hay,  and  plowing.  Do  beware  of  the  politicians  who  are 
abroad  —  whistle  occasionally  and  pull  the  telegraph  wire 
so  that  we  may  know  where  you  are. 

One  morning  early  in  September,  at  four 
o'clock,  the  Pella  excursionists  left  home  after  "500 
roosters  had  been  sacrificed  and  500  more  were  in 
danger  in  case  of  postponement. ' '  The  visitors  were 
welcomed  with  loud  hurrahs  by  their  Orange  City 
hosts  at  East  Orange  station  where  eighty  vehicles 
were  waiting  to  convey  them  to  the  county  seat. 
Two  years  before  there  had  been  a  scene  of  inde- 
scribable enthusiasm  at  the  same  station  adorned 
with  flags  and  green  twigs.  On  the  day  after  the  ar- 
rival the  guests  from  Pella  inspected  the  country  and 
in  the  afternoon  old  and  young  at  Orange  City  laid 
aside  work  to  celebrate.  In  the  evening  Pella 's  brass 
band  serenaded  Orange  City's  chief  men.  In  the 
afternoon  of  the  second  day  hosts  and  guests  gath- 
ered at  church :  prayer  was  said ;  Psalms  were  sung ; 
Rev.  Bolks  spoke  about  "Mother's  visit";  Rev.  Win- 
ter replied  for  the  visitors ;  the  choir  sang ;  and  after 
the  benediction  the  congregation  followed  the  band 
away. 

Two  days,  "days  of  feasting",  were  consumed  in 
visiting.  Relatives  and  friends  once  more  enjoyed 
each  other's  society  and  genuine  hospitality  reigned 
in  every  Dutch  home.  As  the  colony's  leader  after- 
wards remarked,  those  were  "indeed  happy  days, 
oases  on  the  desert  of  life  which  should  long:  be  held 


GROWTH  IN  THE  ORANGE  CITY  COLONY    185 

in  remembrance  and  do  us  good."  And  the  men 
from  Pella  had  nothing  but  words  of  praise,  en- 
couragement, and  flattery  for  their  Sioux  County 
friends  and  kinsmen.157 

For  a  few  years  after  its  establishment  Holland 
Township  contained  an  area  three  times  the  size  of 
an  ordinary  township.  Nassau  Township  was  re- 
duced to  its  present  size  in  1875  by  the  organization 
of  East  Orange  Township  to  the  east  and  Sherman 
Township  to  the  west.  Floyd  Township,  to  the  east 
of  Holland,  was  constituted  in  1873.  These  town- 
ships in  the  southeastern  part  of  Sioux  County  had 
a  population  of  nearly  2000  inhabitants  in  1875, 
most  of  them  being  Hollanders. 

In  1876  West  Branch  Township  with  a  population 
primarily  Dutch  was  organized  from  a  part  of  Hol- 
land Township.  North  of  West  Branch,  Welcome 
Township  was  established  in  1882 ;  and  later  a  town- 
ship was  named  Capel,  after  that  Kapelle  in  Europe 
where  it  is  said  "the  Dutch  cut  the  dykes  and  let  in 
the  sea  to  defeat  the  Spanish  and  again  about  a 
century  later  to  flood  out  the  French."  The  present 
townships  of  Sioux  County  were  all  in  existence  in 
1885,  but  those  not  mentioned  here  were  not  orig- 
inally strongholds  of  the  Dutch  element.158 

To  show  the  relative  importance  and  growth  of 
various  parts  of  the  Dutch  settlement  in  the  town- 
ships named  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  congrega- 
tions of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  were  estab- 
lished at  Orange  City  in  1871,  at  West  Branch  in 


186  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

1877,  at  East  Orange  in  1877,  at  North  Orange  in 
1883,  at  Maurice  in  1884,  at  Pattersonville  in  1885, 
at  Middelburg  in  1885,  at  Hospers  in  1886,  at  Boy- 
den  in  1888,  at  Rock  Valley  in  1891,  and  at  Carmel 
in  1896.  West  Branch  became  Sioux  Center  in  1881 ; 
East  Orange,  though  perpetuated  as  the  name  of  a 
township,  was  later  named  Alton,  although  certain 
citizens  preferred  the  names  of  Wilfred  and  Delft; 
North  Orange  became  Newkirk;  and  Pattersonville 
was  changed  to  Hull.159 

East  Orange  Township  had  a  population  of  103  in 
1880,  Floyd  438,  Holland  1028,  Nassau  596,  Sher- 
man 336,  and  West  Branch  420.  Of  the  inhabitants 
of  Sioux  County  in  1880,  two-thirds  were  of  Amer- 
ican birth,  mostly  Iowans,  including  those  of  Dutch 
descent;  while  the  remaining  one-third  were  of  for- 
eign birth,  predominantly  Hollanders,  with  Germans, 
Irish,  and  Canadians  next  in  order  of  importance. 
If  there  were  2500  Hollanders  in  Sioux  County  in 
1875,  the  number  can  not  have  increased  much  be- 
fore 1880,  because  the  destruction  of  crops  by  grass- 
hoppers had  practically  checked  the  flow  of  immi- 
gration to  the  Dutch  settlement.160 

Inasmuch  as  the  immigration  movement  to  the 
northwestern  counties  was  greatly  retarded  by  the 
locust  scourge,  the  report  of  which  had  given  this 
poverty-stricken  district  no  savory  reputation 
throughout  America  and  Europe,  the  State  of  Iowa 
once  more  undertook  to  induce  homeseekers  to  take 
up  its  thousands  of  acres  of  unused  land.     Having 


GROWTH  IN  THE  ORANGE  CITY  COLONY    187 

been  selected  Commissioner  of  Immigration  in  1880, 
George  D.  Perkins  secured  the  aid  of  real  estate 
dealers  and  also  of  the  commissioners  of  the  leading 
land-grant  railroads,  all  of  whom  cooperated  with 
him  to  distribute  certain  documents  which  he  had 
prepared  —  among  which  were  three  thousand  copies 
of  Be  Volksvriend.191 

The  coming  of  two  more  railways  to  Sioux 
County  at  about  this  time  also  stimulated  immigra- 
tion. The  Chicago,  Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul  Rail- 
road reached  Pattersonville  in  the  fall  of  1878,  while 
the  Chicago  and  Northwestern  Railroad  was  com- 
pleted through  Alton,  Orange  City,  and  Maurice  in 
1882.  The  growth  of  towns  was  considerably  pro- 
moted and  farmers  were  relieved  of  the  necessity  of 
making  long  hauls  to  distant  markets.  Orange  City 
was  incorporated  in  1883. 

Census  returns  for  1885  gave  Sioux  County  a 
total  population  of  11,584,  of  whom  3904  persons 
were  foreign-born.  Of  these  146  came  from  Eng- 
land, 164  from  Ireland,  249  from  Canada,  83  from 
Norway,  896  from  Germany,  and  1818  from  Holland, 
one-third  of  the  total  number  of  Holland-born  people 
in  Iowa.  The  Hollanders  probably  comprised  a  ma- 
jority of  the  inhabitants  in  Capel,  Floyd,  Nassau, 
Sherman,  Welcome,  West  Branch,  and  Holland  town- 
ships, and  in  the  towns  of  Alton,  Orange  City,  Hos- 
pers,  and  Sioux  Center.162 

In  1885  a  gentleman  from  The  Netherlands  who 
visited  all  the  important  Dutch  centers  in  America 
(such  as  Paterson,  New  Jersey;  Albany  and  Roches- 


188  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

ter,  New  York;  and  Kalamazoo,  Grand  Rapids,  and 
Holland,  Michigan),  in  the  interest  of  a  charitable 
institution,  also  came  to  Iowa.  He  wrote  a  book  de- 
scribing his  American  journey,  and  said  of  Orange 
City:   " 

We  were  struck  by  the  fruitfulness  of  the  soil  and  the 
prosperity  which  reigns  everywhere.  ...  Of  all  the 
Dutch  settlements  which  we  visited,  Orange  City  is  the 
youngest;  she  is,  so  to  speak,  a  daughter  of  the  Dutch 
colony  at  Pella ;  about  fifteen  years  ago  this  region  was  but 
little  inhabited.  Here  and  there  one  came  across  a  small 
farm  occupied  by  Americans  who  take  the  lead  as  pioneers 
and  soon  disappear  whenever  a  more  civilized  and  better 
regulated  society  forms  in  their  neighborhood.     .     .     . 

At  that  time  one  had  to  drive  for  hours  in  an  ox- wagon 
to  obtain  the  necessities  of  life ;  now  three  railways  run  in 
the  vicinity  of  this  town.  Fifteen  years  ago  great  numbers 
of  Indians  came  bere  and  temporarily  pitched  their  wig- 
wams for  hunting  on  the  prairies,  and  ten  years  ago  they 
still  followed  herds  of  deer  and  gazelles  which  found  their 
way  into  the  fields  of  corn  and  caused  much  damage.  Now 
one  seldom  if  ever  sees  a  deer,  not  even  on  the  prairie,  and 
no  Red  Man  ever  comes  here. 

We  were  at  once  convinced  that  from  the  time  the  first 
emigrants  built  their  huts  a  greater  revolution  had  taken 
place  here  than  any  we  had  met  with  on  our  journey 
through  America.  ...  In  the  neighborhood  of  Orange 
City  the  land  for  miles  is  dotted  with  splendid  farm-houses, 
all  very  neatly  arranged  and  offering  the  greatest  comfort 
to  their  occupants.  Most  of  them  are  so  well  furnished  that 
many  of  our  farmers'  wives  might  well  be  jealous. 

House-sites  are  carefully  selected  and  nearly  all  are 
found  on  little  knolls.    .    .    .    For  protection  against  prairie 


GROWTH  IN  THE  ORANGE  CITY  COLONY    189 


storms  the  houses  are  surrounded  with  trees,  except  on  the 
eastern  side  which  admits  a  free  and  open  view.  .  .  .  The 
trees  are  mostly  Canadian  poplars  —  first  found  by  the  set- 
tlers along  the  river  banks.  It  will  be  well  in  the  future 
for  many  wooden-shoe  makers  to  go  to  this  place,  for  these 
trees  are  as  unfit  for  lumber  here  as  in  Holland.  .  .  .  When 
I  had  observed  all  this  [the  city],  I  was  amazed  at  the 
organization  and  development  which  the  men  who  first 
pitched  their  tents  had  brought  to  pass.103 

Out  of  a  population  of  18,370  in  Sioux  County  in 
1890,  one-third  were  still  foreign-born.  The  number 
of  Hollanders  can  not  be  estimated.  The  greatest 
increase  in  population,  however,  took  place  in  the 
townships  and  towns  occupied  by  the  Dutch.  In 
this  year  the  Sioux  City  and  Northern  Railway  (now 
the  Great  Northern)  brought  Sioux  Center  into 
prominence. 

Census  statistics  for  1895  gave  Sioux  County  a 
population  of  21,405  inhabitants,  of  whom  one-third 
were  born  outside  of  the  United  States.  Sweden 
was  the  birthplace  of  102 ;  Norway  and  England  pro- 
duced 106  and  159  respectively ;  Ireland  and  Canada 
sent  205  and  221;  Germany  1376;  and  Holland  4325. 
The  increase  of  foreign-born  Hollanders  for  ten 
years,  therefore,  was  nearly  3000,  and  Sioux  County 
at  this  time  contained  about  one-half  of  the  whole 
number  of  Dutch  in  the  State  of  Iowa.164 

The  autumn  of  1895  was,  therefore,  an  occasion 
when  the  Hollanders  fittingly  celebrated  the  twenty- 
fifth  anniversary  of  their  coming  to  Sioux  County. 
They  chose  Orange  City  as  the  scene  of  their  jubilee 


190  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

festivities;  and,  " dressed  in  their  best",  they  as- 
sembled in  thousands  from  all  their  towns  and  farms 
throughout  the  county  to  honor  the  pioneers.  Old 
settlers  dropped  their  activities,  gathered  together, 
glanced  back  upon  the  road  by  which  they  had  come, 
recounted  the  experiences  of  the  preceding  years, 
and  thanked  God  for  past  and  present  blessings. 
The  young  folks,  little  realizing  how  much  their 
parents  had  suffered  in  the  early  days,  found  amuse- 
ment in  various  street  attractions  such  as  ringing 
knives  and  canes,  hurling  balls  at  wooden  or  rag 
dolls  or  " nigger  babies",  throwing  eggs,  three  for 
a  dime,  at  the  black  man's  head,  and  riding  in 
merry-go-rounds.  They  also  enjoyed  great  quanti- 
ties of  red  lemonade,  ice  cream,  and  other  things 
good  to  eat,  and  measured  athletic  skill  in  numerous 
street  sports  before  the  eyes  of  hundreds  of  friends. 
Newspapers  in  the  county  issued  special  num- 
bers in  honor  of  this  event.  The  first  and  oldest 
Dutch  weekly  appeared  clad  in  a  gala  attire  of  red. 
It  presented  a  series  of  short  accounts  of  the  growth 
and  development  of  the  various  localities  where  the 
Hollanders  had  congregated  in  sufficiently  large 
numbers  to  maintain  church  organizations.  Thus, 
one  may  read  a  sketch  by  the  editor  of  the  founding 
of  the  newspaper,  a  short  account  of  the  beginning 
of  the  colony  by  Henry  Hospers,  a  chronological 
review  by  A.  J.  Betten  of  the  chief  events  of  the 
first  decade,  a  brief  history  of  the  Orange  City  Pub- 
lic Schools  and  of  Northwestern  Classical  Academy, 
and  also  short  sketches  of  Orange  City,  Newkirk, 


GROWTH  IN  THE  ORANGE  CITY  COLONY    191 

Middelburg,  Boyden,  Rock  Valley,  Hull,  Hospers, 
Sioux  Center,  Maurice,  Alton,  and  Le  Mars  (in  Ply- 
mouth County)  —  all  towns  in  and  near  which  the 
Dutch  had  then  achieved  financial  and  church  pros- 
perity.165 


XXVI 

THE  EXPANSION  OF  THE  DUTCH  ELEMENT 
IN  IOWA 

State  and  national  statistics  afford  a  good  crite- 
rion of  the  growth  in  numbers  of  foreign-born  Hol- 
landers in  Iowa,  but  they  do  not  record  the  rela- 
tively large  number  of  children  of  Dutch  parentage 
except  as  native-born  inhabitants  of  the  State.  To 
estimate  the  number  of  Hollanders  in  Iowa,  both 
foreign-born  and  native,  is  largely  a  matter  of  spec- 
ulation ;  but  such  an  estimate  need  not  for  that  rea- 
son be  avoided  in  all  cases. 

According  to  all  census  enumerations  previous  to 
and  including  the  year  1870,  Marion  County  was  the 
leading  county  in  Iowa  in  respect  to  the  number  of 
Holland-born  inhabitants.  Of  4513  Hollanders  in 
the  State  in  that  year,  Marion  had  no  less  than  2077 ; 
Mahaska,  its  neighbor  to  the  east,  had  318 ;  and  Lee 
County  could  point  to  258,  most  of  whom  lived  at 
Keokuk,  the  natural  gate  through  which  Hollanders 
had  passed  for  many  years  on  their  way  to  Pella 
and  vicinity.  Muscatine  County  contained  185  peo- 
ple from  The  Netherlands ;  and  next  in  order  came 
Sioux  County  with  its  budding  colony  of  133,  and 
Dubuque  County  with  111.  Foreign-born  Holland- 
ers dwelt  in  all  but  thirty-five  of  the  ninety-nine 
counties  in  the  State.166 

192 


EXPANSION  OF  DUTCH  ELEMENT  IN  IOWA  193 

Beginning  with  the  year  1870  one  can  trace  the 
increase  and  decrease  of  the  numbers  above  quoted, 
and  for  convenience  the  State  of  Iowa  may  be  con- 
sidered in  four  large  groups  of  counties  where  the 
largest  numbers  of  Dutch  immigrants  have  found 
homes.  Of  the  Mississippi  Eiver  counties  Lee  has 
gradually  declined  from  a  strong  little  colony  of 
258  in  1870  to  201  in  1885,  167  in  1895,  and  105  in 
1905,  and  nearly  all  of  these  lived  in  the  city  of 
Keokuk.  A  small  number  of  Hollanders  have  con- 
tinued to  make  their  homes  in  Scott  County :  46  in 
1870,  30  in  1885,  25  in  1895,  and  39  in  1905,  centered 
chiefly  in  Davenport.  In  1885  Clinton  County  had 
33  Hollanders  in  Clinton  and  De  Witt,  and  in  Orange 
Township,  but  only  a  negligible  number  has  resided 
in  the  county  since  that  year.  Dubuque  County, 
with  the  city  of  Dubuque  as  the  chief  point  of  set- 
tlement, dropped  from  111  in  1870  to  38  in  1885,  82 
in  1895,  and  56  in  1905.  The  Hollanders  have  al- 
ways found  Muscatine  an  attractive  county :  it  had 
185  in  1870,  170  in  1885,  189  in  1895,  and  159  in 
1905.  A  Dutch  Reformed  Church  has  been  main- 
tained in  the  city  of  Muscatine  since  1891. 

Many  Dutch  immigrants  settled  in  the  counties 
situated  north  and  east  of  Marshalltown,  but  never 
attained  any  particular  numerical  strength.  Benton 
County  with  29  in  1870  fell  to  15  in  1895,  and  in 
1905  about  the  only  suggestion  of  Holland  or  Hol- 
landers to  be  found  in  the  county  was  the  name  of 
a  town,  Van  Home.  Tama  County  had  26,  mostly 
in  Columbia  Township,  in  1885,  but  lost  these  with- 


194  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

in  a  few  years.  Hardin  County  has  always  con- 
tained a  small  number  of  Holland-born  citizens :  46 
in  1870,  43  in  1885,  60  in  1895,  and  44  in  1905,  living 
for  the  most  part  in  the  town  of  Ackley.  The  num- 
ber of  Hollanders  in  Grundy  County  increased  from 
56  in  1870  to  58  in  1885,  and  96  in  1905 :  German 
Township  contained  most  of  them,  while  the  town  of 
Holland  had  none  at  all!  Butler  County  has  re- 
tained a  thriving  settlement  in  its  southwestern  cor- 
ner, especially  at  Parkersburg  and  in  Albion  Town- 
ship :  the  Hollanders  increased  from  21  in  1870  to 
119  in  1885,  151  in  1895,  and  279  in  1905.  It  is  a 
noteworthy  fact  that  very  many  of  the  counties  in 
this  part  of  the  State  have  congregations  of  the 
Dutch  Reformed  and  the  Christian  Reformed 
Churches,  but  the  membership  consists  almost  ex- 
clusively of  people  who  speak  the  East  Friesian 
dialect  of  the  Low  German.167 

Cerro  Gordo  County  with  23  in  1885  and  29  in 
1895  had  no  Hollanders  to  speak  of  in  1905,  as  was 
also  the  case  with  Howard  County  on  the  Minnesota 
border.  Franklin  County  had  58  Dutch  immigrants 
in  1905;  Black  Hawk  County  increased  from  16  in 
1895  to  22  in  1905 ;  while  Wright  County  rose  from 
36  in  1895  to  83  in  1905.  Webster  County  with  18, 
mostly  at  Fort  Dodge,  in  1885,  and  20  in  1895,  had 
scarcely  any  in  1905.  Humboldt  County  has  wav- 
ered from  44  in  1870,  22  in  1885,  and  54  in  1895 
to  30  in  1905;  and  Pottawattamie  County  claimed 
16  in  1870,  38  in  1885,  56  in  1895,  and  42  in  1905, 
mainly  at  Council  Bluffs. 


EXPANSION  OF  DUTCH  ELEMENT  IN  IOWA  195 


In  1870  Lambert  Kniest,  a  Dutch  resident  of 
Dubuque,  Iowa,  founded  Mount  Carniel  in  a  town- 
ship in  Carroll  County  which  received  his  name. 
He  planned  to  build  up  a  prosperous  colony  of 
German  and  Dutch  Roman  Catholics,  but  the  former 
have  always  preponderated.  The  Hollanders  in 
1885  numbered  62,  and  were  almost  evenly  dis- 
tributed among  Kniest  and  Roselle  townships  and 
the  town  of  Breda ;  they  were  still  62  strong  in  1895, 
but  dropped  to  52  in  1905.168 

The  third  group  of  counties  where  the  Hollanders 
have  flourished  with  especial  vigor  despite  the  fact 
that  the  population  of  that  part  of  Iowa  has  re- 
mained stationary  for  thirty  or  forty  years  consists 
of  Marion  County  and  its  neighbors.  Immigrants 
from  Holland  have,  during  the  last  four  decades, 
passed  by  Marion  and  located  almost  entirely  in  ad- 
jacent counties.  Polk  County  has  gained  consist- 
ently, going  from  21  in  1870  to  51  in  1885,  77  in  1895, 
and  97  in  1905,  the  city  of  Des  Moines  attracting  the 
majority  of  them.  In  Wapello  County  to  the  south- 
east dwelt  55  Hollanders  in  1870,  principally  at  Ed- 
dyville,  but  the  number  had  decreased  from  57  in 
1885  to  39  and  33  in  the  years  1895  and  1905,  res- 
pectively. In  Jefferson  County  there  lived  38  in 
1870,  but  there  were  none  to  speak  of  in  1905,  and 
only  the  name  Batavia  remains  to  remind  one  of 
Holland.  The  number  has  slowly  risen  in  Jasper 
County  from  33  in  1870  to  166  in  1885,  338  in  1895, 
and  473  in  1905 ;  likewise  in  Mahaska  County  from 
318  in  1870  and  303  in  1885,  to  523  in  1895,  and  621 


196  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

in  1905.  Since  1870  Marion  County  has  dropped 
from  first  to  second  place  for  the  number  of  its  Hol- 
land-born inhabitants:  it  had  2077,  one-twelfth  of 
the  entire  population  of  the  county  in  1870,  but  fell 
to  1577  in  1885,  to  1638  in  1895,  and  to  1531  in 
1905.169 

Of  the  Hollanders  of  both  foreign  and  American 
birth  residing  in  the  counties  of  Marion,  Mahaska, 
and  Jasper,  the  city  of  Pella  with  its  3000  people  is 
still  the  chief  center.  In  Lake  Prairie  Township, 
where  the  Hollanders  first  settled  in  1847,  and  in 
Pella  the  Americans  form  only  a  small  minority  of 
farmers  and  business  men.  Although  the  stream  of 
Dutch  immigration  to  Pella  and  surrounding  country 
has  diminished  greatly  in  recent  years,  it  continues 
to  be  steady. 

In  Marion  County  itself  the  Hollanders  have 
slowly  spread  out  as  land-owners,  buying  up  the 
country  situated  between  the  Des  Moines  and  the 
Skunk  rivers  and  also  land  north  of  the  latter  river. 
South  of  the  Des  Moines  River  many  own  farms  in 
Clay  Township.  During  the  past  two  years  the  Hol- 
landers have  bought  considerable  land  in  the  vicinity 
of  Harvey  and  Bussey  in  Liberty  Township.  Only 
a  few  Dutch  families  live  in  Knoxville  and  Union 
townships  near  the  Des  Moines  River.  In  Polk 
Township  perhaps  three-fourths  of  the  people  north 
of  the  river  are  Hollanders,  while  a  few  dwell  south 
of  the  river.  Summit  Township  to  the  west  of  Lake 
Prairie,  is  almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of  Holland- 
ers, as  is  perhaps  one-tenth  of  Red  Rock  Township. 


EXPANSION  OF  DUTCH  ELEMENT  IN  IOWA  197 

The  Dutch  have  gradually  brought  into  their  pos- 
session certain  townships  of  Mahaska  County,  east 
of  Pella,  so  that  they  own  about  three-fourths  of 
Black  Oak  Township,  one-fifth  of  Scott  Township, 
and  one-third  of  Eichland  Township.  South  and 
west  of  these  townships  there  are  numerous  Hol- 
landers in  Prairie  Township,  where  they  have  lately- 
bought  much  land  in  the  vicinity  of  Taintor  and 
New  Sharon,  and  in  Madison  Township  where  they 
own  about  one-tenth  of  the  land.  There  is  a  fair 
sprinkling  of  Dutch  in  Garfield,  Jefferson,  and  West 
Des  Moines  townships.  At  Oskaloosa  they  are  in- 
creasing year  by  year  for  the  reason  that  they  can 
find  plenty  of  work  in  that  city.  In  the  other  town- 
ships farther  east,  families  of  Hollanders  are  few 
and  widely  scattered.  South  of  Oskaloosa  they  have 
been  buying  land  in  the  neighborhood  of  Eddyville 
in  Monroe  County. 

North  of  Marion  and  Mahaska  coimties  the  Hol- 
landers have  been  spreading  into  Jasper  County  so 
that  about  one-tenth  of  Elk  Creek  Township  and  one- 
fifth  of  Lynn  Grove  Township  are  Dutch-owned,  and 
Fairview  and  Des  Moines  townships  each  have  a 
good  quota  of  Hollanders.  They  have  bought  up 
considerable  land  in  the  neighborhood  of  Prairie 
City,  Monroe,  Reasnor,  Galesburg,  Killduff,  Sully, 
and   Lynnville.170 

In  1911  the  Dutch  in  southern  Iowa  were  con- 
fined to  approximately  all  that  area  of  country  which 
lies  within  a  radius  of  fifteen  miles  from  Pella,  north 
of  the  Des  Moines  River;  while  thev  and  their  de- 


198  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

scendants  were  steadily  pushing  the  circumference 
outward.  But  few  American  farmers  live  on  the 
twenty-mile  road  between  Pella  and  New  Sharon  or 
occupy  farms  on  the  highway  between  Pella  and 
Oskaloosa,  a  distance  of  eighteen  miles.  There  is  at 
least  a  grain  of  truth  in  the  following  interesting 
bit  of  American  journalism  :171 

HOLLANDERS  ARE  THE  BOYS 

THEY  BUY  UP  OVERFLOW  LAND  AND  ARE  GETTING  RICH 

At  the  present  rate  of  purchase,  it  will  not  be  many 
years  until  Hollanders  will  own  all  the  land  between  Pella 
and  Oskaloosa,  and  between  the  Des  Moines  and  Skunk 
rivers.  They  buy  several  thousand  acres  every  year,  and  it 
is  an  accepted  axiom  that  when  a  Dutchman  gets  a  farm 
he  never  sells  it.  Their  specialty  also  is  to  buy  the  less  ex- 
pensive land  and  make  it  blossom  like  the  rose. 

The  bottom  lands  along  the  river,  at  which  the  American 
shies,  especially  during  the  season  of  high  water,  is  the  Hol- 
lander's delight.  He  knows  from  experience  in  his  own 
country  that  if  he  can  keep  the  water  out,  this  land  will 
produce  enormous  crops.  And  there  is  where  he  is  begin- 
ning to  shine  here.  The  first  thing  a  Hollander  does  after 
taking  possession  of  the  land  is  to  tile  it  and  then  begin  the 
erection  of  dykes.  Skunk  River  for  miles  is  being  walled 
up,  and  it  will  only  be  a  few  years  until  high  water  in  this 
section  will  have  no  terrors  for  the  owners  of  low  lands. 
The  Hollander  also  is  an  intensive  farmer,  and  it  is  no  un- 
usual thing  for  one  of  them  to  make  a  crop  pay  for  the 
land. 

With  an  increase  of  wealth  and  prosperity  came 
an  expansion  of  the  land  area  owned  by  the  Hoi- 


EXPANSION  OF  DUTCH  ELEMENT  IN  IOWA  199 

landers  in  the  vicinity  of  Pella.  As  their  sons  grew 
up  new  farms  were  needed  and  purchased,  very 
often  at  high  prices.  Indeed,  the  market  of  that 
part  of  Iowa  was  not  flooded  with  cheap  or  abundant 
land,  and  this  fact  forced  hundreds  of  Hollanders  to 
seek  their  fortunes  elsewhere  in  America.  Under 
such  circumstances  Pella 's  only  successful  daughter- 
colony  was  founded  in  Sioux  County,  but  as  that 
region  filled  up  with  farmers,  and  homesteads  rose 
in  value,  many  Hollanders  of  Pella  and  vicinity 
settled  in  Minnesota  and  South  Dakota  in  communi- 
ties established  by  Hollanders  from  Michigan. 

Thus,  at  about  the  time  when  Henry  Hospers  led 
a  band  of  settlers  to  Sioux  County,  other  Pella 
people  went  southward  to  Kansas  where  they  found- 
ed Rotterdam  and  Prairie  View,  two  communities 
which  were  never  a  match  for  their  northern  neigh- 
bors. Another  group  established  a  village  named 
Pella  in  Lancaster  County,  Nebraska,  a  small  agri- 
cultural community.  Still  other  associations  hope- 
fully founded  towns  of  the  same  name  in  Texas  and 
in  Colorado,  but  both  towns  were  extinct  in  1911. 
Southwestern  Iowa  was  also  considered,  but  land 
could  not  be  secured. 

As  they  grew  in  numbers  and  found  it  increas- 
ingly difficult  to  obtain  additional  farm  lands  at 
home,  the  Hollanders  inspected  lands  in  other  locali- 
ties. Pella' s  Weekblad  and  other  newspapers  ad- 
vertised land-seekers'  excursions  to  this  or  that  dis- 
trict opened  to  settlers  in  the  West.  In  1911  the 
Dutch  colony  at  Winnie,  Texas,  offered  special  in- 


200  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

ducements.  Many  emigrated  to  Oklahoma.  And 
wherever  they  went  they  bore  their  church  affilia- 
tions, established  churches  or  allied  themselves  with 
those  already  formed.  The  proverbial  Dutch  clan- 
nishness  is  well  illustrated  in  the  fact  that  emigrants 
from  the  Dutch  colony  around  Pella  have  either  es- 
tablished communities  of  their  own  or  they  have 
found  homes  in  other  Dutch  settlements :  compara- 
tively few  have  scattered  to  live  alone  among 
strangers.  Feelings  of  nationality  and  kin  have 
prompted  Hollanders  to  dwell  together  in  America, 
just  as  emigrants  of  most  European  lands  have  al- 
ways been  induced  to  live  among  their  friends  and 
relatives  in  certain  sections  of  the  country.  This 
clannishness  appears  to  be  merely  one  means  of  self- 
preservation.172 

Northwestern  Iowa,  however,  contains  more  than 
one-half  the  foreign-born  Hollanders  in  the 
State.  The  stream  of  Dutch  immigration  has  con- 
tinued toward  that  part  of  the  State  more  strongly 
than  to  any  other  part  since  1870.  Osceola  County 
with  its  poorly  drained  lands  claimed  but  22  in  1885 
and  83  in  1905,  chiefly  at  Sibley.  Woodbury  County, 
with  Sioux  City  as  the  center,  had  12  in  1885,  106  in 
1895,  and  125  in  1905.  Lyon  County  rose  from  142 
in  1895  to  279  in  1905;  and  O'Brien  County  from  64 
in  1885  to  114  in  1895,  and  237  in  1905,  located  very 
largely  in  the  town  of  Sheldon,  and  in  Baker  and 
Carroll  townships ;  while  Plymouth  County  had  15  in 
1870,  187  in  1885,  311  in  1895,  and  only  171  in  1905, 
residing  chiefly  at  Le  Mars. 


EXPANSION  OF  DUTCH  ELEMENT  IN  IOWA  201 

Sioux  County  has  made  the  most  remarkable 
gains.  From  a  small  group,  133  in  1870,  the  number 
of  foreign-born  Hollanders  increased  to  1818  in 
1885,  4325  in  1895,  and  4407  in  1905.  The  entire 
Dutch  element  in  the  State,  exclusive  of  descendants 
of  foreign-born  parents,  consisted  of  1108  in  1850, 
2077  in  1856,  2615  in  1860,  4513  in  1870,  4743  in 
1880,  5461  in  1885,  7941  in  1890,  9126  in  1895,  9388 
in  1900,  and  9677  in  1905,  and  of  this  element  Sioux 
County  has  had  almost  one-half  in  later  years. 
Other  Hollanders  were  distributed,  in  most  cases 
widely  scattered,  among  all  but  fourteen  counties  in 
the  State  in  1885  and  among  all  but  six  counties  in 
1905.173 

It  is  estimated  that  over  one-half  of  approxi- 
mately 25,000  people  in  Sioux  County  are  Dutch, 
either  by  birth  or  descent,  thus  making  that  county 
the  home  of  the  largest  settlement  of  Hollanders  in 
the  State,  although  Pella  and  vicinity  are  a  close 
second.  The  Hollanders  are  advancing  farther 
westward  into  the  county,  southward  into  Plymouth 
County,  eastward  into  O'Brien  County,  and  north- 
ward into  Lyon  County,  and  they  are  primarily  re- 
sponsible for  increasing  the  percentage  of  rural  pop- 
ulation in  Sioux  County  from  five  to  fifteen  per  cent 
during  the  past  ten  years. 

In  Holland  Township  the  Dutch  own  all  but  one 
section  of  the  land  and,  with  a  few  American  fami- 
lies, they  number  1374  people  at  Orange  City.  In 
Capel  Township,  with  its  village  of  Middelburg,  the 
Hollanders  own  all  but  five  sections,  and  nine-tenths 


202  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

of  the  land  of  West  Branch  Township  is  Dutch- 
owned,  while  Sioux  Center  has  only  four  or  five  non- 
Dutch  families  in  a  population  of  1064.  There,  as 
at  Orange  City,  Hollanders  own  and  carry  on  nearly 
all  business  enterprises.  All  but  one  section  of  the 
land  in  Welcome  Township  belongs  to  the  Dutch. 

In  Lynn  Township  more  than  one-half  of  the  land 
is  farmed  by  Hollanders;  Germans  and  Americans 
own  the  rest.  In  Floyd  Township  Dutch  and  Ger- 
mans share  the  land  about  equally.  The  town  of 
Hospers  and  the  village  of  Newkirk  are,  however, 
mainly  Dutch.  In  this  part  of  Sioux  County  the 
Chicago,  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  and  Omaha  Railroad 
practically  separates  the  areas  occupied  by  the  two 
nationalities  —  the  former  owning  land  to  the  north 
and  the  latter  to  the  south  of  the  railroad.  East 
Orange  Township,  therefore,  is  almost  entirely  in 
the  hands  of  Germans ;  and  Nassau  Township,  with 
its  town  of  Alton,  is  perhaps  predominantly  Dutch. 
The  Germans  are  equally  prosperous  as  farmers  in 
that  district,  and  have  owned  their  lands  as  long  as 
their  Dutch  neighbors  so  that  the  proportion  of  na- 
tionalities has  not  changed  for  many  years.  The 
Hollanders  prefer  to  rent  out  their  farms  to  Dutch- 
men, while  German  owners  just  as  strongly  insist 
upon  German  renters. 

Americans  are  in  a  majority  in  Grant  Township, 
with  their  neighbors  about  evenly  divided  between 
Dutch  and  Germans,  the  former  owning  about  ten 
sections  of  land.  The  same  is  true  of  Sheridan 
Township  where  the  Hollanders  own  thirteen  sec- 


EXPANSION  OP  DUTCH  ELEMENT  IN  IOWA  203 

tions  of  land  and  are  also  firmly  intrenched  in  the 
town  of  Boyden.  Lincoln  Township  has  for  many 
years  been  passing  into  the  hands  of  the  Dutch  until 
they  hold  about  one-half  of  the  land,  while  Amer- 
icans and  Germans  own  the  rest.  The  town  of  Hull, 
once  strongly  American,  is  now  largely  Dutch,  and 
the  village  of  Perkins  is  entirely  so. 

Sherman  Township  and  the  town  of  Maurice  are 
one-half  Dutch,  with  some  Germans  and  a  good  many 
Irish.  Reading  Township  and  the  town  of  Ireton, 
once  strictly  Yankee  and  Irish  territory,  are  grad- 
ually being  taken  by  the  Hollanders  —  for  Irishmen 
seem  to  think  that  land  at  from  $100  to  $150  per 
acre  is  too  good  for  them.  About  one-half  of  Cen- 
ter Township,  three-sevenths  of  Plato  Township, 
two-fifths  of  Rock  Township,  including  the  town  of 
Rock  Valley,  and  one-fifth  of  Sioux  Township  have 
fallen  into  the  hands  of  Hollanders,  although  their 
neighbors,  Germans  and  Americans,  predominate. 
These  people,  with  some  Norwegians,  occupy  the 
greater  part  of  Settlers  and  Garfield  townships,  but 
the  Dutch  own  one-tenth  and  one-fourth  of  the  land, 
respectively.  Americans  and  Germans  are  still  firm 
in  the  southwestern  townships  with  only  a  mere 
sprinkling  of  Dutch.174 

American-born  Hollanders  have  been  invading 
the  counties  around  Sioux  so  that  in  Sheldon, 
O'Brien  County,  nearly  every  store  and  bank  em- 
ploys Dutch-speaking  clerks.  They  have  spread 
east  of  Sheldon  and  have  established  a  church  at 
Sanborn.    There  is  a  goodly  number  of  Dutch  in  the 


204  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

western  townships  of  O'Brien  County,  and  also  in 
the  southern  townships  of  Lyon  County.  It  is  be- 
lieved that  the  Hollanders  will  be  in  control  of  the 
northwestern  corner  of  O'Brien  County  and  the 
southern  part  of  Lyon  County  within  a  few  years. 
Plymouth  County  has  not  as  many  Dutch  as  for- 
merly. 

It  is  true  that  with  the  rapid  expansion  of  the 
Dutch  in  Sioux  and  neighboring  counties,  many  have 
been  forced  to  buy  land  in  other  States :  many  have 
found  homes  in  the  neighborhood  of  such  towns  as 
Harrison,  Platte,  Corsica,  Springfield,  Worthing, 
Chancellor,  and  Volga  —  all  in  South  Dakota. 
Others  in  their  search  for  land  have  obtained  farms 
near  the  towns  of  Luctor,  Leota,  Edgerton,  Clara 
City,  Roseland,  and  Spring  Creek,  Minnesota;  and 
some  have  migrated  to  Hull,  Westfield,  Twin  Brooks, 
North  Marion,  and  Litchville,  North  Dakota.  A 
considerable  number  went  to  Linden,  Oak  Harbor, 
and  North  Yakima,  Washington.  Other  families  in- 
vested their  money  in  cotton  plantations  in  Missis- 
sippi. 

In  late  years  many  have  gone  to  Crawford  and 
Denver,  Colorado ;  and  not  a  few  have  helped  swell 
the  tide  of  emigration  from  Iowa  to  the  cheap  lands 
of  the  Canadian  northwest.175  In  practically  all  of 
these  communities,  which  are  mainly  agricultural, 
are  to  be  found  Hollanders  from  the  older  Dutch 
settlements  in  Illinois,  Michigan,  Minnesota,  and 
Wisconsin.  The  existence  of  these  settlements  with 
their    thriving    little    churches    where    Dutch     is 


EXPANSION  OF  DUTCH  ELEMENT  IN  IOWA  205 


preached  shows  better  than  anything  else  how  par- 
tial the  Hollanders  are  to  people  of  their  own  nation 
and  to  ancestral  institutions. 

Seldom  if  ever  do  the  Hollanders  of  the  Dutch 
communities  in  Iowa  return  to  live  in  The  Nether- 
lands. After  years  of  prosperity  in  America  some 
immigrants  go  back  for  a  few  months '  stay,  or  per- 
haps for  a  winter's  visit  with  friends  and  relatives 
in  the  old  home,  but  those  who  expect  to  live  out 
their  days  in  Holland  find  themselves  quickly  disil- 
lusioned: they  are  happy  to  escape  from  a  life 
which  grates  on  them  with  its  pronounced  social 
ranks.  A  renewal  of  their  acquaintance  with  social 
conditions  in  the  fatherland  convinces  them  that 
western  America  with  its  ideas  of  equality  is  prefer- 
able to  a  poor  man's  wretched  lot  in  Holland.  The 
Hollanders  who  have  visited  their  people  in  Europe 
have  been  the  means  of  carrying  American  enthu- 
siasm with  them  and  they  have  frequently  conducted 
Dutch  families  to  Iowa.  Some  years  ago  a  Sioux 
County  visitor  in  Holland  returned  home  with  six 
families  of  from  five  to  eight  children  each. 

Dutch  immigration  to  Iowa  has  not  yet  ceased. 
Fathers  of  large  families  in  Holland  still  want  to 
give  their  sons  a  good  start  in  life.  Many  who  come 
to  the  Iowa  settlements  are  unable  at  once  to  rent 
farms.  Consequently  they  live  for  a  time  in  town 
where  they  work  as  day-laborers  at  odd  jobs,  or  cul- 
tivate a  few  acres  of  land,  and  gradually  obtain 
a  knowledge  of  American  farm  conditions.     When 


206  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

their  sons  grow  up  they  rent  farms  and,  after  sav- 
ing for  a  few  years,  may  buy  land  of  their  own. 

In  the  spring  of  1911  American  newspapers 
heralded,  the  coming  of  thousands  of  Hollanders  to 
America,  lured  by  the  eternal  hope  of  bettering  their 
condition  and  of  establishing  themselves  in  a  coun- 
try where  advancement  is  possible  to  the  poorest 
man,  if  endowed  with  ambition  and  determination. 
Eastern  reporters  interviewed  an  Iowa  Hollander 
who  said: 

Most  of  those  who  are  coming  over  now  are  from  Fries- 
land.  They  come  here  as  a  land  of  refuge  from  conditions 
which  have  grown  intolerable  in  their  home  land.  There 
opportunity  has  departed,  and  to  remain  means  that  a  man 
must  ever  be  a  plodder.  Of  course,  over-population  enters 
into  the  question.  In  such  a  crowded  country  there  is  no 
chance  for  that  spirit  which  we  call  over  here  "get  up  and 
get".  There  is  no  chance  for  fortune  to  smile,  and  there  is 
no  incentive  to  develop  the  land  which  one  does  not  own. 

Holland  is  becoming  a  country  for  the  well-to-do.  The 
rich  own  much  of  the  land.  The  land  is  nearly  all  in  their 
hands.  If  by  chance  there  is  a  piece  of  land,  the  farmer 
must  bid  for  it.  "When  a  piece  of  land  is  vacant,  which  is 
not  often,  it  is  advertised  for  about  a  week  and  a  date  is  set 
for  renting  it.  The  lease  is  then  practically  sold  at  auction. 
One  farmer  will  make  an  offer  for  the  property  and  an- 
other will  raise  the  price  a  bit.  And  so  it  will  go  until 
finally  it  is  a  question  whether  the  man  who  obtains  posses- 
sion is  really  the  fortunate  bidder.  The  price  is  run  up  to 
such  a  figure  that  one  may  perhaps  make  a  living,  but  as  to 
making  more,  never. 

Now,  if  this  holds  for  the  farmer,  the  man  generally 


EXPANSION  OF  DUTCH  ELEMKNT  IX  IOWA  207 

who  has  inherited  some  money  or  a  lease,  or  who  has  slowly 
climbed  the  ladder  by  the  hardest  kind  of  work,  work  that 
bows  the  shoulders  in  age  and  in  time  turns  a  man  into  a 
dull  plodding  fellow,  what  chance  has  the  farm  laborer,  the 
honest,  hard-working  man  who  has  seen  the  sun  rise  and  set 
in  the  fields  as  long  as  he  can  remember?  His  chance  of 
becoming  a  leaseholder  is  reduced  to  a  minimum,  and  he 
has  hardly  a  chance  of  ever  becoming  a  landowner. 

Is  it  to  be  wondered  at  that  these  men  are  turning  to 
the  United  States ;  that  they  are  coming  here  filled  with  an 
ambition  to  succeed  ?  Could  a  more  desirable  class  knock  at 
the  gateway  of  the  New  World  ?  I  crossed  the  Atlantic  with 
several  hundreds  of  my  countrymen  and  I  was  proud  of 
them  every  knot  of  the  way.  They  combine  thrift  with  a 
capacity  for  the  hardest  kind  of  work,  and  they  are  seldom 
discouraged.  They  were  born  to  fight  for  existence  in 
crowded  Holland,  and  that  is  the  spirit  they  bring  with 
them  across  seas.176 

On  the  28th  of  February,  1912,  newspapers 
throughout  the  United  States  reported  the  arrival 
of  two  hundred  Dutch  farmers  and  their  families  on 
board  the  steamship  "Noordam".  They  were  on 
the  way  to  Iowa  where  they  had  purchased  a  large 
tract  of  land.  All  were  said  to  be  in  possession  of 
ample  funds  —  all  were  declared  to  be  "splendid 
specimens  of  the  sturdy  Friesland  yeoman  farmers, 
who  have  been  the  backbone  of  Holland  in  the  time 
of  trouble",  and  who  were  now  forced  by  high  rents 
and  heavy  taxation  to  leave  their  fatherland. 


XXVII 

POLITICAL  BEGINNINGS  AMONG  THE  HOL- 
LANDERS IN  MARION  COUNTY 

The  Hollanders  who  were  transplanted  in  1847  to 
the  prairies  of  Iowa,  then  the  youngest  State  of  the 
American  Union,  were  the  product  of  Europe's  so- 
cial, religious,  and  political  conditions.  Not  only 
had  they  been  branded  and  maltreated  in  their 
fatherland  as  a  congregation  of  religious  fanatics, 
but  they  had  also  been  regarded  as  a  menace  to  the 
state,  excluded  from  all  positions  of  political  trust, 
closely  watched  by  the  spies  of  a  suspicious  govern- 
ment, and  in  many  ways  kept  in  a  state  of  political 
subjection.  In  America,  which  they  hailed  as  the 
land  of  civil  and  religious  liberty,  they  first  learned 
to  know  the  meaning  of  real  freedom:  Americans 
respected  and  treated  them  according  to  their  merits. 
The  change  from  the  oppression  of  the  Old  World  to 
the  freedom  of  the  New  World  was  a  novel  one  to 
them;  and  the  absence  of  social  and  political  dis- 
criminations caused  them  to  breathe  a  sigh  of  re- 
lief. 

As  descendants  of  the  ancient  Batavi  whom  Rome 
had  honored  as  allies  because  her  armies  could  not 
subdue  them,  the  Dutch  emigrants  to  America  cut 
loose  from  the  reactionary  principles  of  a  govern- 

208 


POLITICS  IN  MARION  COUNTY  209 


ment  which  had  undertaken  to  crush  their  aspira- 
tions for  religious  independence.  The  door  to  civil 
and  religious  liberty  in  the  Dutch  colonies  had  been 
deliberately  closed  to  them  —  the  only  ray  of  light 
which  reached  them  came  from  America.  When 
they  had  deserted  a  king  and  government  at  whose 
hands  they  had  suffered  so  much  persecution  and 
loss  of  honor,  and  when  they  had  set  up  homes  in 
the  heart  of  Ajnerica,  they  prided  themselves  on  the 
opportunity  to  live  upon  a  soil  which  had  never  been 
occupied  by  any  European  power  nor  "wrested 
from  the  original  owners  by  means  of  the  conquer- 
or's bloody  sword".177 

Scholte  pointed  with  pleasure  to  the  fact  that 
North  America  had  never  come  under  the  sway  of 
the  Eoman  Empire.  To  Christians  in  Holland  he 
wrote : 

The  United  States  first  came  into  existence  as  a  nation 
when  she  broke  all  political  and  religious  ties  binding  her 
to  the  mother  country.  The  Declaration  of  Independence 
did  not  flow  from  theoretical  doctrines  of  liberty,  but  was 
the  outcome  of  practical  experience  in  matters  of  right  and 
justice.  This  big  country,  where  millions  may  still  find 
enough  to  keep  them,  was  not  snatched  from  its  former 
owners  by  means  of  bloody  weapons ;  it  was  bought  and  the 
price  was  paid.  The  foundation  of  Babylonian  world 
powers  in  the  North  American  Colonies,  transplanted  from 
Europe  in  early  times,  was  entirely  destroyed  when  the 
Union  was  formed.  After  that  came  the  acquisition  of  a 
vast  stretch  of  country;  the  advance  of  enterprising  settlers, 
by  wrhom  the  most  distant  regions  (also  the  State  of  Iowa) 
were  opened  to  European  emigrants. 


210  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

The  laborer  is  not  oppressed,  the  needy  are  not  aban- 
doned, the  foreigner  is  not  turned  away,  the  people  are  not 
crushed  by  oppressive  taxes.  The  nation  is  free,  and  shows 
that  she  can  bear  and  enjoy  this  freedom.  The  worship  of 
God  is  respected  without  financial  assistance  from  the  State 
and  without  obligations  to  the  State.  These  and  many  other 
reasons  cause  me  to  judge  that  the  condition  of  the  United 
States  has  thus  far  been  absolutely  different  from  that  of 
countries  subject  to  Rome.  Moreover,  the  faces  of  Christian 
people  in  various  Old  World  countries  are  being  turned  this 
way.  He  who  believes  in  God's  guidance  must  take  note  of 
this  and  inquire  into  the  reasons.178 

Shortly  after  his  arrival  in  America  Scholte  went 
to  Washington,  D.  C,  concerning  which  he  wrote: 

I  found  the  higher  government  officials  so  ready  and 
willing  to  help  me  in  every  way  that  I  could  hardly  believe 
my  own  eyes  and  ears,  and  I  was  involuntarily  driven  to 
compare  them  with  officials  in  Holland  —  a  comparison 
which  did  not  redound  to  the  credit  of  the  latter  country. 
I  not  only  experienced  no  gruffness,  not  only  did  no  one  try 
to  get  the  better  of  me,  but  with  the  utmost  modesty  and 
willingness  to  answer  my  questions  of  investigation  they 
presented  me  with  printed  documents  free  of  cost,  while  a 
few  days  later  they  forwarded  to  me  at  New  York,  free  of 
charge,  a  set  of  maps  of  the  various  States  indicating  unsold 
government  lands. 

Equally  kind  was  the  treatment  which  he  received 
at  the  hands  of  statesmen  at  Albany,  where  he  visited 
a  session  of  the  legislature.  "Becognized  by  one  of 
the  members",  he  writes,  "I  was  compelled  to  take  a 
seat  in  their  midst.  How  different  from  Hol- 
land!"179 


POLITICS  IN  MARION  COUNTY  211 

Immediately  after  their  arrival  in  Marion  County 
the  Hollanders  wished  to  have  it  understood  that 
they  intended  to  become  permanent  residents  of  the 
State  of  Iowa.  Within  one  month  after  they  settled 
upon  their  farms,  they  requested  the  clerk  of  the  dis- 
trict court  to  come  to  Pella  so  that  they  might  be 
relieved  of  taking  a  journey  to  Knoxville,  the  county 
seat.  When  this  officer  acquiesced,  Scholte  writes, 
"we  declared  our  intention  to  become  citizens  of  the 
United  States  of  North  America,  so  that  our  status 
as  subjects  of  William  II  came  to  an  end  once  for 
all." 

Of  this  unique  incident  at  Pella,  an  American 
visitor  wrote: 

On  the  day  of  my  arrival,  it  was  my  good  fortune  to 
witness  a  most  interesting  proceeding.  Most  of  the  male 
adults  went  through  the  ceremony  of  declaring  their  inten- 
tions of  becoming  citizens  of  the  United  States.  It  was  alto- 
gether an  impressive  scene,  to  behold  some  two  hundred 
men  with  brawny  arms  upraised  to  heaven  eschewing  all 
allegiance  to  foreign  powers,  Potentates,  etc.  And  as  they 
all  responded,  in  their  native  tongue,  to  the  last  words  of 
the  oath:  ''So  help  me  God  !"  no  one  could  resist  the  heart- 
felt response:  "So  help  them  God  to  keep  their  solemn 
vow!"  All  appeared  to  feel  the  weight  of  responsibility 
they  were  about  to  assume.  No  tribute  could  be  more 
beautiful  or  complimentary  to  our  institutions  than  to  be- 
hold the  men  of  "Pella"  coming  up  in  their  strength,  on 
the  prairies  of  America,  and  there  eschewing  forever  all 
allegiance  to  the  tyranny  of  king-craft.  ...  A  fact  worth 
recording  during  the  ceremony  before  the  clerk  of  the  court 


212  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

was  that,  of  the  whole  number  that  took  the  oath  of  intend- 
ed citizenship,  but  two  made  their  marks.180 

This  hasty  manifestation  of  their  willingness  to 
become  identified  with  the  American  people  made 
such  a  good  impression  that,  although  the  State  Con- 
stitution of  1846  prescribed  United  States  citizenship 
as  a  qualification  of  voters  and  of  candidates  for 
office,  the  General  Assembly  of  Iowa  passed  a  special 
statute  which  ignored  constitutional  provisions. 
For  otherwise  the  Hollanders  who  lived  in  Marion 
County  would  have  been  deprived  of  township  gov- 
ernment for  five  years,  a  situation  which  might  have 
led  to  a  failure  of  the  administration  of  justice. 

When  the  General  Assembly  met  in  special  ses- 
sion at  Iowa  City  in  January,  1848,  Scholte  and  other 
members  of  the  council  of  the  association  prepared  a 
petition  asking  relief  in  three  particulars.  The  re- 
sult was  that  Jefferson  and  Lake  Prairie  townships 
which  the  Hollanders  owned  almost  entirely,  were 
united  under  the  name  of  Lake  Prairie  Township; 
secondly,  those  who  had  taken  the  oath  of  allegiance 
to  the  United  States  were  given  the  right  to  vote  for 
township  officers ;  and  thirdly,  they  were  allowed  to 
become  candidates  for  the  various  township  offices.181 

"How  different,"  Scholte  wrote,  "this  is  from 
our  status  in  Holland  I  need  not  point  out  to  anyone 
who  remembers  that  we  were  treated  as  a  people  who 
should  have  no  rights  and  be  kept  out  of  all  positions. 
Here  the  various  political  parties  unite  to  assure  us 
that  they  prize  our  presence  and  that  they  will  grant 


POLITICS  IN  MARION  COUNTY  213 


us  as  many  privileges  as  are  consistent  with  the 
Constitution.  .  .  .  America  warmly  welcomes 
the  liberty-loving  Hollanders  with  open  arms,  mind- 
ful of  the  fact  that  sons  of  that  same  Holland  were 
the  founders  of  one  of  the  most  flourishing  pads 
of  the  American  Union,  and  hopeful  that  the  present 
immigrant  Hollanders  will  be  to  the  West  what  the 
earlier  ones  have  been  to  the  East  —  powerful  fac- 
tors in  the  development  and  prosperity  of  the  United 
States  of  North  America."  182 

With  the  government  authorities  at  Washington 
it  appears  that  Scholte  and  his  friends  had  sufficient 
influence  to  obtain  a  post-office  and  post-route  for 
the  Dutch  settlement.  Furthermore,  the  citizens  of 
Marion  County  had  become  so  dissatisfied  with  the 
location  of  Knoxville  as  the  seat  of  justice  of  Marion 
County  that  they  desired  to  have  it  removed  north 
of  the  Des  Moines  River.  ''The  American  people 
are  quite  generally  convinced  that  the  best  place  in 
the  whole  county  would  be  found  in  our  township", 
wrote  Scholte,  "and  for  that  reason  several  persons 
have  requested  me  to  lay  out  a  town  where  the  river 
is  easily  forded,  and  to  offer  lots  for  sale  to  the 
public,  convinced  that  if  the  selection  of  a  county 
seat  ever  comes  before  the  voters  the  choice  will  un- 
doubtedly fall  upon  this  place,  in  case  I  should  meet 
the  county  half-way  and  appropriate  a  site  for  pub- 
lic buildings.  It  is  not  improbable  that  I  shall  de- 
cide to  plat  such  a  town  near  the  river,  and  that  a 
survey  in  compliance  with  the  law  shall  be  com- 
menced within  a  few  weeks." 


214  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

Thus  Scholte  wrote  to  his  friends  in  Holland  in 
the  month  of  March,  1848,  and  shortly  afterward  he 
staked  out  a  town  upon  the  banks  of  the  Des  Moines 
River  and  named  it  Amsterdam  upon  request  of  his 
American  neighbors.  The  glorious  future  of  this 
town,  however,  proved  to  be  a  pipe  dream.  What 
was  once  Amsterdam  is  now  an  expanse  of  corn 
fields,  and  Knoxville  has  maintained  its  position  as 
the  county  seat.183 

In  the  month  of  May,  1848,  the  Hollanders  could 
for  the  first  time  boast  of  having  tasted  civil  liberty, 
for  they  had  gone  through  the  experience  of  selecting 
their  own  township  officers.  The  few  American  citi- 
zens who  still  resided  in  Lake  Prairie  Township 
gladly  conceded  that  most  of  the  officers  should  be 
Hollanders  and  that  the  Hollanders  should  have  their 
own  caucus  for  the  nomination  of  candidates.  Ac- 
cordingly, the  election  took  place  at  Scholte 's  house, 
and  the  following  men  took  the  oath  of  office :  Green 
F.  Clark  and  H.  P.  Scholte,  justices  of  the  peace; 
Stilman  Elwell  and  Cornelius  van  den  Berg,  con- 
stables; G.  Awtry,  A.  J.  Betten,  and  P.  Welle, 
trustees;  I.  Overkamp,  clerk;  H.  P.  Scholte,  school 
inspector;  J.  Roziersz,  treasurer;  Cornelius  den 
Hartog  and  H.  Barendregt,  overseers  of  the  poor; 
Wellington  Nossaman,  Wm.  van  Asch,  G.  van  der 
Wilt,  C.  't  Lam,  P.  van  Meveren,  and  Dk.  Sijnhorst, 
road  supervisors;  and  A.  de  Visser  and  J.  Toom, 
fence  viewers.184 

Official  documents  and  papers  in  the  English  lan- 
guage were  translated  for  the  Hollanders  whenever 


POLITICS  IN  MARION  COUNTY  215 

necessary.  Later  in  the  year  1848  Scholte  wrote 
that  only  in  one  case  had  the  court's  services  been 
necessary  —  in  a  case  involving  a  small  debt  —  and 
as  for  the  rest,  the  justice's  work  had  been  confined 
to  the  performance  of  the  marriage  ceremony, 
"which  is  one  of  his  duties  here",  and  to  the  legal- 
ization of  signatures  to  contracts.  Township  offi- 
cers among  the  Dutch  had  very  little  to  do  during 
those  first  two  or  three  years.  The  fence  viewers 
were  perhaps  the  busiest.185 

The  influence  of  the  Hollanders  in  Marion 
County,  however,  was  not  confined  altogether  to 
township  affairs.  At  a  certain  county  convention 
which  was  called  to  discuss  a  law  inimical  to  the  in- 
terests of  the  people,  Scholte  as  the  representative 
of  the  Dutch  colony  was  elected  member  of  a  com- 
mittee to  draw  up  a  memorial  to  the  State  legisla- 
ture. He  did  not  refuse  to  serve,  and  he  had  the 
satisfaction  of  seeing  his  draught  of  the  memorial 
accepted  by  the  committee  and  later  by  the  entire 
convention.  So  strong  was  popular  sentiment  at 
this  time  on  the  subject  of  Des  Moines  River  im- 
provement that  candidates  for  the  legislature  were 
driven  to  make  definite  preelection  promises  in 
favor  of  a  revision  of  the  existing  law.186 

With  matters  of  national  concern  and  with  politi- 
cal party  interests  the  Dutch  had  little  to  do;  but 
Scholte  wrote  as  follows : 

Next  November  there  is  to  be  an  election  in  which  the 
entire  Union  is  interested.  A  President  of  the  United 
States  has  to  be  chosen.     Three  candidates  have  been  pro- 


216  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

posed  by  the  various  political  parties:  General  Taylor  by 
the  Whigs;  General  Lewis  Cass  by  the  Democrats;  and 
Martin  Van  Buren  by  a  third  party  which  will  vote  for 
neither  Taylor  nor  Cass.  Everywhere  these  parties  are  now 
holding  mass-meetings  in  order  to  persuade  the  people  to 
vote  for  their  nominees. 

Although  the  Hollanders  have  nothing  to  do  with  this 
at  present,  they  are  nevertheless  invited  to  these  meetings 
to  give  their  moral  support  to  one  or  the  other  party,  and 
by  their  influence  to  win  the  votes  of  American  citizens. 
To-day  there  was  such  a  meeting  in  a  neighboring  town.  A 
few  English-speaking  Hollanders  happened  to  be  present. 
They  were  at  once  invited  to  participate  in  the  meeting  and 
the  barbecue  and  were  most  cordially  introduced  to  the  con- 
vention as  niembers  of  the  Dutch  colony.  If  our  former 
fellow-countrymen  and  fellow-believers  compare  with  this 
the  way  in  which  they  are  treated  by  the  various  political 
parties  [in  Holland] ,  they  will  possibly  notice  considerable 
difference,  and  I  do  not  believe  that  political  conditions 
have  been  ameliorated  since  our  departure  from  The  Nether- 
lands. 

Here  we  are  prized  by  our  neighbors.  They  all  know 
that  we  emphasize  the  worship  of  God  as  most  important  in 
life,  and  yet  they  do  not  consider  us  fanatics,  nor  do  they 
fear  that  we  shall  have  an  injurious  effect  upon  public  life. 
In  this  respect,  therefore,  we  have  no  reason  to  complain, 
but  rather  reason  to  be  thankful.187 

Thus,  as  residents  of  the  State  of  Iowa  for  barely 
nine  months,  the  Hollanders  learned  their  first  les- 
son in  American  politics,  happy  to  obtain  so  im- 
portant a  concession  as  complete  local  self-govern- 
ment.    With  genuine  satisfaction  they  noted  the  ab- 


POLITICS  IN  MARION  COUNTY  217 

sence  of  paternalism,  perceiving  that  no  govern- 
ment in  the  world  ruled  so  little  from  above  and  en- 
trusted so  much  to  the  regulation  and  determination 
of  the  people  themselves  as  the  United  States.  This 
extension  of  self-government,  one  observer  declared, 
led  every  citizen  to  investigate  and  participate  in 
public  measures,  decreased  popular  discontent  and 
opposition,  and  made  the  people  in  the  noblest  sense 
self-dependent  adults.188 

Well  might  the  Hollanders  be  proud  of  their 
new  liberty,  for  soon  they  were  pained  but  not  sur- 
prised to  hear  that  the  Dutch  government  had 
staged  one  scene  of  the  tragedy  of  revolution  which 
swept  over  Europe  in  1848.  Then  it  was  that 
Scholte  addressed  the  people  of  The  Netherlands  as 
follows : 

Has  not  the  blood  of  citizens  flowed  because  other  citi- 
zens owed  blind  obedience  to  superiors  who  ordered  them  to 
fire  their  murderous  guns  ?  That  sort  of  thing  has  no  place 
here;  for  that  sort  of  thing  no  soldiers  are  available  here. 
The  legislature  here  sometimes  passes  a  law  which  the 
people  consider  hostile  to  their  interests.  They  gather  in 
mass-meetings,  condemn  such  law,  draw  up  resolutions  and 
propose  what  they  think  is  right. 

The  government  never  thinks  of  resisting  such  conven- 
tions with  an  armed  police  force,  but  gives  ear  to  the  peo- 
ple's voice;  occasionally  stubborn,  self-seeking  officials  are 
brought  to  time  by  the  concerted  action  of  the  people.  A 
subsequent  General  Assembly  investigates  grievances,  and 
if  it  declines  to  redress  them,  at  the  next  election  American 
people  will  show  that  they  know  how  to  get  their  rights 
quietly  and  in  a  lawful  manner. 


218  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

I  attended  such  a  mass-meeting  here  and  was  really 
struck  by  the  way  in  which  matters  were  conducted.  Not 
only  did  political  party  lines  disappear  and  the  people  act 
as  companions  in  misery,  but  the  distinction  between  Ameri- 
can and  Hollander  attracted  no  notice ;  on  the  contrary  per- 
sons who  had  but  recently  arrived  in  America  were  con- 
sulted and  listened  to  just  as  freely  as  native-born  citi- 
zens.189 

The  Hollanders  in  America  noted  also  that  hence- 
forth they  would  not  be  subjected  to  the  espionage  of 
a  suspicious  government :  ' '  the  rulers  know  that  this 
would  do  no  good  because  an  election  might  deprive 
them  of  further  chance  to  lord  it  over  the  people". 
Once  limited  to  the  private  expression  of  their 
"opinions,  votes  and  observations,  brotherly  words, 
protests",  they  could  now  say:  "It  is  God's  hand 
which  in  many  ways  directs  oppressed  Netherlander 
to  a  land  where  they  first  learn  what  freedom  means 
and  how  the  country's  inhabitants  worthily  enjoy 
it." 

Scholte  believed  that  the  theory  of  American 
♦political  and  social  conditions  might  be  imagined, 
but  could  never  be  put  into  practice,  in  Holland  —  a 
country  dotted  with  military  posts  and  everywhere 
supplied  with  police  because  there  would  be  no  se- 
curity without  them.  "It  does  little  good,"  wrote 
Scholte,  "to  preach  'liberty,  equality,  and  f rater- 
nit  y':  there  must  be  people  who  are  fitted  to  prac- 
tice."190 


XXVIII 

PARTICIPATION  BY  THE  HOLLANDERS  IN 
ELECTIONS 

Transplanted  from  an  atmosphere  of  discontent  in 
Holland,  where  they  had  been  political  nonentities, 
to  America  where  they  enjoyed  the  fundamental 
rights  of  freemen  in  the  affairs  of  local  self-gov- 
ernment, the  Hollanders  witnessed  the  participation 
of  their  American  neighbors  in  the  county,  State, 
and  national  contests  of  the  political  arena.  The 
Hollanders  had  come  to  live  among  people  who  had 
just  voted  upon  the  question  of  Statehood,  had  adopt- 
ed a  Constitution,  and  were  filled  with  the  spirit  of 
partisanship.  State  and  national  election  campaigns 
were  then  conducted  by  Democrats  and  "Whigs  with 
tremendous  party  zeal  and  with  no  little  bitterness 
and  mutual  recrimination.  During  the  years  of 
''fraud,  trickery,  and  corruption",  in  the  midst  of 
violent  controversies  between  Whigs  and  Democrats, 
the  Hollanders  were  admitted  to  all  the  rights  of 
American  citizens  in  the  autumn  of  1852.191 

For  two  or  three  years  after  1852  Dutch  voters 
took  no  conspicuous  part  in  other  than  township 
elections  —  which  is  perhaps  accounted  for  by  the 
fact  that  they  cared  more  about  the  improvement  of 
their  farms  and  the  increase  of  their  worldly  pos- 

219 


220  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

sessions.  Lake  Prairie  Township  showed  its  vot- 
ing strength  for  the  first  time  in  1855,  when  the 
Hollanders  helped  Marion  County  to  defeat  the 
adoption  of  a  prohibitory  law  by  a  vote  of  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  to  thirty-one,  although  the  entire  State 
vote  was  in  favor  of  adoption.192 

How  much  Scholte  directed  the  party  inclina- 
tions of  his  Dutch  friends  in  Lake  Prairie  Township 
and  Pella  it  is  difficult  to  estimate.  Before  his  ar- 
rival in  America  he  had  studied  and  admired  the 
opinions  of  Henry  Clay.  His  American  neighbors, 
however,  helped  poll  a  majority  vote  in  Marion 
County  for  Franklin  Pierce,  the  Democratic  candi- 
date for  President  in  1852.  Again  in  1854  when  the 
Whig  party  had  become  merged  into  the  Republican 
party,  the  voters  of  Lake  Prairie  Township  cast  a 
majority  vote  for  Curtis  Bates,  the  Democratic 
nominee  for  Governor.  The  few  Hollanders  who 
could  read  and  understand  acrimonious  editorials  in 
American  newspapers  and  attend  rousing  political 
rallies  were  perhaps  able  to  decide  for  themselves 
which  party  deserved  their  support,  but  most  of  the 
Dutch  voters  must  have  received  their  party  views 
second-hand.193 

On  the  first  of  February,  1855,  there  appeared 
The  Pella  Gazette,  wherein  the  editors,  H.  P.  Scholte 
and  Edwin  H.  Grant,  declared  themselves  "Inde- 
pendent in  Everything".  "It  is  not  our  intention", 
they  said,  "to  remain  silent  upon  the  great  political 
questions  of  the  day.  But  we  wish  it  to  be  dis- 
tinctly understood  that  we  do  not  intend  to  give  a 


PARTICIPATION  IN  ELECTIONS  221 

blind  credence  to  the  machinations  of  any  of  the 
parties  now  dominant.  We  shall  boldly  avow  our 
sentiments  respecting  any  of  the  great  movements  of 
the  age,  regardless  of  political  bias.  Whenever  we 
can  consistently  approve  of  any  acts  performed  by 
either  party,  which  seem  to  us  to  be  calculated  to 
benefit  our  State,  or  the  great  national  confederacy, 
we  shall  cordially  lend  our  influence  to  sustain  and 
promote  such  measures."  194 

The  Hollanders  of  Pella  were  astounded  by  the 
wide-spread  interest  of  Americans  in  politics.  They 
expressed  great  surprise  that  almost  every  Amer- 
ican had  a  comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  consti- 
tution of  his  government,  discussed  and  criticised  the 
various  departments,  and  drew  fine  distinctions. 
They  perceived  that  the  American's  first  inclination 
was  politics:  "very  seldom  will  he  converse  with 
you  about  the  weather,  your  health  or  anything  of 
that  sort;  a  laborer  doesn't  speak  to  his  fellows 
about  work,  but  the  subject  of  conversation  is  nearly 
always  government  and  politics."  And  this  phe- 
nomenal fact  Scholte  and  his  Dutch  people  attrib- 
uted to  the  reading  of  newspapers.195 

In  the  years  from  1855  to  1860  the  Know-Noth- 
ing or  American  party  came  in  for  its  share  of  at- 
tention in  Marion  County.  The  adherents  of  this 
party  desired  an  alteration  of  the  naturalization 
laws  so  that  twenty-one  years  of  residence  in  the 
United  States  should  be  required  of  voters,  and  all 
foreign-born  citizens  should  be  excluded  from  of- 
fice :  in  short  they  believed  in  America  for  the  Amer- 


222  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 


icans.     Scholte  and  the  Hollanders  opposed  these 
men  with  all  their  might. 

Led  to  believe  that  the  Republican  party  stood 
for  monarchical  institutions  and  that  the  great  Dem- 
ocratic party  had  prevented  an  "aristocracy"  from 
getting  possession  of  the  country,  the  Hollanders  felt 
that  as  true  sons  of  liberty  they  must  swell  the 
ranks  of  true  Americans,  and  not  being  acquainted 
with  American  history  and  politics  they  thought  that 
they  would  be  true  Americans  if  they  voted  the 
Democratic  ticket.  Their  neighbors  were  Demo- 
crats—  a  fact  which  doubtless  influenced  many  to 
affiliate  with  that  party.196 

Perhaps  the  first  Dutch  candidate  for  an  office  in 
Iowa  was  Henry  Hospers.  As  to  this  Democratic 
nominee  for  county  surveyor  Scholte  declared  in  his 
usual  independent  way:  "He  is  a  young  man,  a 
native  of  Holland,  full  of  zeal  to  ascend  the  ladder  of 
political  preferment,  and  therefore  not  promoted 
quick  enough  by  the  Whigs,  deserted  their  ranks  and 
joined  the  Democratic  party  in  the  hope  that  they 
would  reward  his  zeal  with  a  speedy  nomination. 
Mr.  Hospers  must,  however,  remember  that  there  is 
some  difference  between  nomination  and  election." 

At  the  election  in  August,  1855,  the  independent 
ticket  supported  by  Know-Nothings  was  elected. 
Lake  Prairie  Township  gave  a  heavy  majority 
against  them  —  a  majority  which,  it  was  said,  would 
have  been  swelled  had  the  Hollanders  been  asked  to 
vote  on  the  question  whether  slavery  or  freedom 
should  prevail  in  the  Territories.     They  would  have 


PARTICIPATION  IN  ELECTIONS  223 

voted  for  freedom.  Scholte  remarked:  "The  citi- 
zens of  Holland  are  not  so  easily  drilled  in  a  party 
organization:  they  like  to  judge  for  themselves. 
They  can  certainly  be  led  astray  by  circumstances 
and  false  representations,  like  other  men,  but  as  a 
general  rule  they  vote  from  conviction  and  principle, 
and  it  is  not  easy  to  get  their  votes  for  a  man  in 
whom  they  have  no  confidence. ' ,197 

Beginning  in  1850,  for  many  years  the  citizens  of 
Pella,  among  them  C.  Jongewaard  and  Henry  P. 
Scholte,  were  bold  enough  to  petition  the  legislature 
to  remove  the  State  capital  from  Iowa  City  to  Pella. 
Scholte  even  offered  to  donate  land  sufficient  for  a 
site.  Though  the  voters  of  Wapello  and  Jefferson 
counties  also  favored  the  selection  of  Pella,  the  peti- 
tion received  no  serious  attention. 

In  1855,  after  considerable  agitation,  the  people 
of  Pella  voted  in  favor  of  incorporation,  and  elected 
a  committee  consisting  of  H.  C.  Huntsman,  Isaac 
Overkamp,  and  Peter  Barendregt  to  prepare  a  city 
charter.  Scholte  ridiculed  the  whole  move  as  pre- 
posterous, saying:  "the  man  in  whose  brains  the 
first  idea  of  incorporating  Pella,  as  a  city,  has 
sprung  up,  ought  to  be  found  out.  His  name  ought 
to  be  canonized  in  the  records  of  the  city  council. 
Even  if  he  was  a  Know-Nothing,  he  knew  something, 
viz :  That  it  is  not  only  possible  for  natives,  but  also 
for  foreign-born  citizens  to  be  easily  humbugged. 
We  fear,  however,  that  more  than  one  will  claim  the 
honor  of  invention,  and  then  it  is  no  easy  matter  to 
decide." 


224  THE  HOLLANDERS  OP  IOWA 


When  the  charter  was  adopted,  Scholte  sarcas- 
tically referred  to  the  city's  "decemviri"  and  dema- 
gogues, and  accused  the  committee  of  inserting  a 
Know-Nothing  plank  in  the  charter.  He  declared 
that  in  a  place  where  most  of  the  residents  were  of 
European  origin,  and  where  the  population  was  in- 
creasing every  year  by  fresh  arrivals  from  the  old 
country,  it  was  very  impolitic  to  exclude  a  man  from 
voting  in  city  matters  till  he  became  a  citizen  of  the 
United  States.198 

Pella's  first  town  officers  were  elected  in  Septem- 
ber, 1855.  W.  J.  Ellis,  an  American,  became  mayor ; 
three  Americans  and  three  Hollanders  were  chosen 
as  aldermen  in  three  wards:  G.  Boekenoogen  was 
elected  recorder,  Isaac  Overkamp  treasurer,  and  A. 
Stoutenberg  marshal.  Since  that  day  Hollanders 
have  held  a  majority  of  the  city  offices,  but  despite  a 
numerical  superiority  over  their  Yankee  neighbors 
they  have  not  clannishly  monopolized  all  positions. 
This  is  apparent  from  the  names  of  their  mayors 
before  1880:  Isaac  Overkamp,  John  Nollen,  Wil- 
liam Fisher,  Henry  Hospers,  H.  M.  McCully,  H. 
Neyenesch,  and  E.  F.  Graf  e.  Dutch  voters,  however, 
in  municipal  as  well  as  other  elections  have  not  al- 
ways been  free  from  the  charge  of  carelessness  and 
irresponsibility :  they  have  sometimes  neglected  their 
duty  as  citizens  by  staying  at  home  and  have  allowed 
keener  Americans  to  win  the  offices.199 

It  is  an  interesting  and  noteworthy  fact  that  the 
Dutch  of  Pella  and  vicinity  have  been  consistently 
and    conservatively    Democratic    in    their    politics. 


PARTICIPATION  IN  ELECTIONS  225 

When  they  overwhelmingly  rejected  the  prohibitory 
statute  of  .1855  they  did  so  not  because  they  coun- 
tenanced drunkenness,  but  because  it  was  a  dis- 
tinctively Republican  measure  repugnant  to  their 
ideas  of  temperance.  Scholte,  himself  a  minister  of 
the  gospel,  insisted  it  would  be  difficult  "to  find  in 
the  United  States  ten  beer-shops  kept  by  Dutchmen ; 
they  are  commonly  Germans". 

When  some  politician  remarked  in  the  spring  of 
1856  that  there  were  "not  enough  wooden  shoes  in 
Pella  to  gain  the  victory"  in  Marion  County,  the 
spokesman  of  the  Hollanders  answered  that  "the 
men  with  wooden  shoes  and  the  men  with  boots  and 
slippers ' '  had  voted  unanimously  against  the  Know- 
Nothing  Republicans,  would  do  it  again,  and  were 
"certainly  ahead  of  those  bogus  Americans  who 
have  the  lunatic  presumption  to  maintain  that  men 
born  upon  American  soil  are  the  only  fit  political 
rulers  in  our  Republic,"  —  adding  that  "honest 
Dutchmen  have  brought  too  much  true  Republican- 
ism with  them  from  the  old  country  to  be  deceived 
or  frightened  by  such  bogus  republicans  ".  "  When- 
ever there  is  an  opportunity  of  striking  a  blow  for 
true  Republican  liberty",  he  continued,  "the  de- 
spised wooden-shoe  nation  will  be  at  hand  to  kick 
would-be  despots  and  exclusivists  into  the  abyss  of 
political  oblivion.  They  may  be  slower  than  the 
live  Yankee  race,  but  they  can  endure  and  wait. 
They  can  be  bowed,  but  not  crushed."200 

Scholte  sometimes  delivered  speeches  in  the 
Dutch  language  on  political  questions  of  the  day, 


226  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

and  through  his  newspaper  he  made  himself  clear 
on  the  subject  of  slavery.  He  believed  that  slavery 
should  be  removed  from  American  soil  by  honorable 
means.  At  the  same  time  he  supported  the  Demo- 
cratic party  because  other  parties  as  he  thought 
had  combined,  with  slavery  as  a  pretext,  to  over- 
throw the  Democratic  regime  in  order  to  gain  politi- 
cal supremacy  for  themselves. 

In  the  summer  of  1856  he  announced  to  his 
readers  that  owing  to  the  tension  between  political 
parties  and  the  unreasonable,  partisan  way  in  which 
a  certain  Dutch  newspaper  of  Wisconsin  supported 
the  newly  organized  Republican  party,  he  had  been 
goaded  to  dedicate  three  columns  of  The  Pella 
Gazette  to  the  good  of  countrymen  who  could  read 
only  the  Dutch  language :  "In  that  space  more  real 
good  can  certainly  be  said  than  the  Nieuivsbode  has 
ever  delivered  in  a  whole  number".  Then  followed 
editorials  on  political  questions  for  several  months. 
He  later  congratulated  the  wooden-shoe  nation  of 
Lake  Prairie  Township  on  its  aid  in  securing  the 
triumph  of  the  Democrats  in  Marion  County,  and 
again  on  casting  345  votes  for  Buchanan  as  against 
136  for  Fremont.201 

In  the  summer  of  1857  the  Hollanders  of  Lake 
Prairie  Township  presented  an  almost  solid  Demo- 
cratic front  and  voted  down  the  Republican  party 
draft  of  a  new  State  constitution  by  a  vote  of  270  to 
63 ;  and  by  a  vote  of  280  to  6  they  declared  that  the 
negro  should  not  be  allowed  the  right  of  suffrage. 
On  the  latter  point  Marion  County  voters  were  al- 


PARTICIPATION  IN  ELECTIONS  227 

most  unanimous  —  the  total  vote  standing  1748  to 
24.  It  was  at  this  time  that  Scholte  wrote  the  fol- 
lowing : 

Our  society  consists,  in  about  equal  numbers,  of  Ameri- 
cans —  the  descendants  of  the  men  who  planted  the  stand- 
ard of  popular  sovereignty  on  this  continent  —  and  of  Hol- 
landers —  the  progeny  of  those  who  were  the  first  to  main- 
tain in  Europe  religious  and  political  liberty  and  the  right 
of  men  to  govern  themselves,  who  humbled  Spain,  burnt  the 
Royal  men-of-war  of  Great  Britain  in  sight  of  the  British 
capital,  placed  William  III  upon  the  throne  of  England, 
and  laid  the  foundation  of  the  Empire  State.  A  few  Ger- 
mans and  Irish  complete  our  numbers. 

Intermarriages  between  the  different  white  nationalities 
indicate  that  distinction  on  account  of  place  of  birth  is  un- 
known among  us;  but  we  have  not  lost  our  self-respect  so 
completely,  as  to  open  our  family  circles  to  amalgamation 
with  the  black  race.  .  .  .  We  do  propose  overwhelm- 
ingly to  vote  down  the  infamous  principle  of  Negro 
Equality.202 

At  the  joint  convention  of  the  Senate  and  House 
of  Representatives  of  Iowa,  held  on  January  26, 
1858,  James  W.  Grimes  was  elected  United  States 
Senator;  John  Teesdale  became  State  Printer,  and 
Henry  P.  Scholte  was  defeated  by  F.  M.  Mills  for 
State  Binder:  each  victor  received  sixty-four,  each 
vanquished  candidate  forty-one  votes,  the  Repub- 
licans winning. 

During  the  early  months  of  1859  Scholte  was 
elected  a  delegate  to  the  Democratic  State  Conven- 
tion. Great  was  the  astonishment  when  he  did  not 
attend,  and  very  great  indeed  when  he  appeared  at 


228  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

the  Republican  State  Convention  and  helped  nomi- 
nate Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  for  Governor.  It  was  re- 
ported: ''Mr.  Scholte  is  in  attendance  from  Marion 
County  as  a  Republican  delegate.  He  represents  a 
large  body  of  Hollanders  who  have  heretofore  voted 
the  Democratic  ticket.  The  accession  of  Mr.  Scholte 
and  those  he  represents  will  give  us  Marion  County 
with  a  gain  of  two  Representatives  and  one  Sena- 
tor."203 

' '  I  consider  it  no  dishonor  for  any  man  to  change 
his  political  principles  if  he  becomes  convinced  that 
they  were  wrong",  wrote  Scholte  in  regard  to  his 
desertion  to  the  ranks  of  the  Republicans.  "On  the 
contrary  I  should  deem  it  dishonorable  to  hold  fast 
to  principles  of  government  for  party's  sake,  when 
a  man  is  in  conscience  convinced  that  those  prin- 
ciples are  wrong."  As  a  genuine  disciple  and  ad- 
herent of  Henry  Clay  he  was  convinced,  he  said,  that 
he  could  "never  become  identified  with  the  so-called 
Democracy,  without  sacrificing  every  honorable  con- 
viction ....  upon  the  altar  of  so-called  party 
interest.  Not  being  prepared  to  stoop  so  low  as 
that,  there  was  no  other  way  for  me  but  to  leave  the 
party. ' ' 

Scholte  could  no  longer  be  allied  with  a  party 
which  was  behaving  itself  so  foolishly  on  the  slavery 
question.  He  said  he  had  no  apology  to  make  to 
the  Democracy  for  favors  received,  and  that  hence- 
forth his  object  would  be  "the  conversion  of  politi- 
cal sinners  and  heretics ;  the  conviction  of  the  misin- 
formed and  misguided;   and  the  strengthening  of 


PARTICIPATION  IN  ELECTIONS  229 

the   faithful    lovers   of   liberty,   independence,   and 
union".204 

But  whatever  Scholte's  views  were  on  political 
questions  during  those  pre-rebellion  days  and  how- 
ever he  may  have  communicated  to  his  neighbors  his 
ideas  in  favor  of  Republicanism,  the  Hollanders 
were  still  strongly  Democratic  in  the  State  election 
of  1859  when  they  cast  about  364  votes  for  Augustus 
C.  Dodge  and  146  for  Samuel  J.  Kirkwood  for  Gov- 
ernor. On  January  25, 1860,  at  the  Republican  State 
Convention  held  at  Iowa  City,  Scholte  was  elected 
as  a  delegate-at-large  to  the  Chicago  Convention 
which  nominated  Abraham  Lincoln  for  President. 
He  afterwards  urged  the  voters,  instead  of  sending 
pettifoggers  to  make  noise  and  confusion,  "to 
work  and  vote  with  a  will  for  Lincoln,  Hamlin,  and 
Curtis,  and  for  the  worthy  candidates  for  our  State 
offices,  not  forgetting  that  our  county  government, 
as  a  general  thing,  is  very  badly  managed  through 
democratic  misrule."  205 

Nevertheless,  in  the  autumn  election  of  1860 
Marion  County  (the  Hollanders  included)  cast  a  ma- 
jority of  ninety-nine  votes  for  Stephen  A.  Douglas 
for  President.  It  is  asserted  that  though  Pella  and 
vicinity  had  been  almost  exclusively  Democratic, 
Scholte's  efforts  through  his  newspaper  resulted  in 
many  desertions  to  Republican  ranks,  and  Demo- 
cratic power  in  this  Dutch  stronghold  was  consider- 
ably curtailed  not  only  by  his  newspaper  articles  but 
also  by  a  pamphlet  on  "American  Slavery".-00 

After  the  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  to  the 


230  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

presidency,  the  secession  of  several  Southern  States 
from  the  Union  threw  the  country  into  war.  Gov- 
ernor Kirkwood's  appeal  for  volunteers  did  not  go 
unheeded  among  the  Hollanders  of  Iowa.  Funds 
were  collected  at  Pella  to  encourage  volunteers,  and 
Scholte  offered  a  lot  of  land  in  North  Pella  to  every 
volunteer.  These  lots  were  later  called  "soldier 
lots".  A  few  men,  heads  of  families  who  were 
drafted  into  the  service,  were  replaced  by  substi- 
tutes paid  with  funds  which  the  Hollanders  contrib- 
uted for  that  purpose.  The  women  of  Pella  also, 
like  other  women  in  Iowa,  were  active  in  collecting 
and  forwarding  necessities  for  the  sick  and  wounded 
soldiers.207 

No  less  than  sixty-three  Hollanders  from  Pella, 
twelve  from  Keokuk,  twenty-four  from  Muscatine, 
three  from  Burlington,  six  from  Dubuque,  and  a  few 
from  other  towns  enlisted  in  Iowa  infantry  and 
cavalry  regiments;  and  a  number  did  not  return 
home  from  fields  of  battle.  They  served  the  country 
in  the  battles  and  skirmishes  of  campaigns  in  the 
South.  By  their  valor  and  bravery  they  at  least 
showed  that  Democrats  could  espouse  the  Union 
cause  against  secession  States ;  and  although  the  city 
of  Pella  was  the  home  of  a  numerous  Democratic 
element  called  the  "Copperheads"  —  an  appellation 
which  denoted  the  character  of  their  attacks  upon 
President  Lincoln's  administration  and  Governor 
Kirkwood's  proposal  to  raise  a  loan  of  $800,000  for 
defence  —  there  were  no  Hollanders  implicated  in 
such  treasonable  practices.208 


PARTICIPATION  IN  ELECTIONS  231 


During  the  early  months  of  the  war  after  the 
first  reverses  of  the  Union  armies,  Pella  men  showed 
their  loyalty  and  forgot  party  by  supporting  the 
Union  cause.  Scholte  warmly  advocated  Republican 
principles  and  just  as  strenuously  attacked  Demo- 
cratic pro-slavery  views.  By  their  acts  the  Hol- 
landers, especially  the  young  men,  showed  that  they 
were  body  and  soul  in  sympathy  with  the  northern 
attitude  toward  slavery.  All  were  well  conversant 
with  American  affairs  in  1860  and  realized  what 
issues  were  at  stake. 

Political  party  activity  among  the  Hollanders 
living  in  the  vicinity  of  Pella  in  three  counties  has 
moved  along  the  same  Democratic  groove  since  the 
time  when  they  first  commenced  to  use  the  ballot 
box.  They  have  seldom  been  addressed  by  political 
orators  in  their  native  tongue,  but  since  1861  through 
the  columns  of  an  influential  Democratic  newspaper 
printed  in  the  Dutch  language  they  have  been  kept 
well  posted  on  public  questions  and  political  affairs 
of  city,  county,  State,  and  Nation. 

A  slight  Republican  majority  for  Kirkwood,  can- 
didate for  Governor  in  1861,  showed  the  attitude  of 
Marion  County  and  Dutch  voters  during  that  crisis, 
and  was  unique  because  Marion  County  has  gen- 
erally been  devotedly  Democratic.  In  the  years  1863 
and  1865  the  county  again  appeared  strongly  Demo- 
cratic for  James  H.  Tuttle  and  Thomas  H.  Benton, 
Jr.  A  radical  Republican  newspaper  in  the  Eng- 
lish language  was  launched  at  Pella  in  1865;  but  tlii- 
organ  survived  only  a  short  time.     Another  news 


232  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

paper,  published  in  Dutch  and  devoted  to  the  in- 
terests of  the  Republican  party,  lasted  for  only  two 
years. 

After  Lincoln  and  Grant  had  received  slight 
presidential  majorities  in  1864  and  1868,  Democratic 
conservatism  once  more  came  to  the  surface  in 
Marion  County.  Election  returns  for  1875,  1881, 
and  1885  showed  that  Lake  Prairie  Township  polled 
the  heaviest  Democratic  vote  in  the  county  and  since 
1887  the  Pella  wards  and  Lake  Prairie  Township 
have  been  strongly  Democratic.  In  1897  Bryan  re- 
ceived a  heavy  vote  for  the  presidency,  and  in  1898 
White  was  strongly  endorsed  for  the  governorship. 
Bryan  was  again  a  strong  favorite  over  McKinley 
in  1901.  Since  1902,  however,  the  Republicans  have 
been  slightly  reducing  Democratic  strength  in  the 
Dutch  strongholds.  But  even  Roosevelt,  with  his 
Dutch  name  and  Dutch  ancestry,  failed  to  get  the 
support  of  a  majority  of  the  burghers  of  Pella  and 
of  the  farmers  of  such  Dutch  townships  as  Lake 
Prairie  and  Summit  in  Marion  County,  and  Rich- 
land and  Black  Oak  in  Mahaska  County.  President 
Taft  fared  badly  among  the  Hollanders  of  this  part 
of  Iowa  in  1908.209 

Although  the  Hollanders  of  Pella  and  vicinity 
have  always  been  fairly  faithful  in  their  attendance 
at  the  polls,  they  have  not  often  occupied  county 
offices  —  due  to  the  fact,  of  course,  that  they  have 
spread  out  over  three  adjoining  counties,  thus  spoil- 
ing chances  for  a  solid  Dutch  vote.     By  a  judicious 


PARTICIPATION  IN  ELECTIONS  233 

exchange  of  votes,  however,  a  Hollander  has  occa- 
sionally been  rewarded  with  a  "political  plum". 

The  first  Dutchman  elected  to  county  office  was 
Auke  H.  Viersen,  who  was  treasurer  and  recorder 
during  the  early  years  of  the  Civil  War.  In  1865 
the  Representative  from  Marion  County  was  B. 
Van  Leuven,  a  Pella  merchant  but  a  Knickerbocker 
by  birth.  In  1868  and  1870  Henry  L.  Bousquet  be- 
came county  clerk.  Henry  Hospers,  nominee  for 
State  Representative,  was  among  the  Democratic 
candidates  who  were  snowed  under  in  the  autumn 
election  of  1869.  If  he  had  been  successful,  one  may 
only  speculate  as  to  whether  or  not  a  prosperous 
Dutch  colony  would  ever  have  risen  on  the  prairies 
of  Sioux  County. 

Pierre  H.  Bousquet  was  a  county  supervisor  in 
1869,  as  were  Herman  F.  Bousquet  and  Henry  L. 
Bousquet  in  1874  and  1877;  and  Sipke  H.  Viersen 
became  recorder  in  1872.  Viersen  had  been  placed 
upon  the  Republican  ticket  as  a  bid  for  the  Dutch 
vote:  the  Republicans  of  Knoxville  hoped  in  this 
way  to  make  their  ticket  successful,  but  they  did  all 
they  could  to  defeat  the  Dutch  candidate.  Had  it 
not  been  for  the  votes  of  some  sixty  Democrats  in 
Lake  Prairie  Township,  Viersen  would  have  been 
beaten  by  his  so-called  Republican  friends. 

Since  1886  Dieles  van  Zante,  Leendert  van  den 
Linden,  J.  B.  Vriezelaar,  and  D.  G.  van  Zante  have 
been  county  supervisors  at  various  times  from  the 
Pella  district;  while  Stephen  de  Cook  served  in  Ma- 
haska  County.     Other  officials   of   Marion   County 


234  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

were  Auke  H.  Viersen,  Teunis  Tysseling,  D.  W. 
Langerak,  Gr.  van  der  Wilt,  B.  Kersbergen,  and 
Meyer  Langerak.  Herman  Rietveld,  the  Dutch 
Democratic  candidate  for  State  Representative  who 
was  elected  in  March,  1898,  to  complete  the  unex- 
pired term  of  H.  M.  McCully,  an  American  citizen  of 
Pella,  was  defeated  for  reelection  in  1899.  Dutch 
voters  were  reminded  at  election  time  that  Sioux 
County  had  been  represented  in  the  lower  house  of 
the  legislature  by  a  Dutchman  and  that  the  Hol- 
landers of  Marion  County  deserved  the  same 
honor.210 


XXIX 

POLITICS  IN  SIOUX  COUNTY 

When  the  Hollanders  established  themselves  in  the 
southeastern  townships  of  Sioux  County  they  found 
politics  and  county  offices  in  the  hands  of  a  few  Amer- 
icans at  Calliope,  the  county  seat  and  only  town. 
Dutch  voters  were  almost  at  once  as  numerous  as 
American  settlers,  and  at  the  first  election  they 
placed  two  of  their  candidates  in  office:  Tjeerd 
Heemstra  became  chairman  of  the  county  board  of 
supervisors  in  January,  1871,  and  Jelle  Pelmulder 
became  clerk  of  the  district  court,  a  position  which 
he  retained  continuously  until  1887  —  the  longest 
term  ever  held  by  an  officer  of  Sioux  County. 

In  the  autumn  of  1871  the  Hollanders  nominated 
three  candidates,  one  of  them  an  American,  for 
county  office  and  later  elected  them:  Henry  Hos- 
pers  as  member  of  the  board  of  supervisors,  and  A. 
J.  Betten  as  auditor.  The  victorious  Hollanders  had 
the  pleasure  of  driving  twenty-three  miles  across 
country  through  blizzards  and  cold  weather  to  per- 
form their  duties  at  Calliope.  Thus  in  January, 
1872,  three  officers-elect  journeyed  from  Orange  City 
to  the  county  seat  where  the  board  of  supervisors 
convened.  Hospers  took  the  oath  of  office;  but 
when  his  comrades  came   forward  and   presented 

235 


236  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

their  official  bonds  the  Calliope  members  of  the  board 
refused  to  accept  them.  Three  times  they  balked 
despite  the  vigorous  protests  of  Hospers. 

Incensed  by  this  unreasonable  policy  of  the 
American  office-holders,  about  one  hundred  and 
fifty  men,  three-fifths  of  whom  were  Hollanders, 
hitched  up  their  teams  one  bitterly  cold  day  in  Jan- 
uary and  drove  to  Calliope  in  "bob-sleds"  to  ex- 
ercise their  powers  of  persuasion.  It  is  reported 
that  when  this  long  train  of  horses  and  sleds  ap- 
peared in  sight  of  the  courthouse,  the  chairman  of 
the  board  of  supervisors  hastily  adjourned;  and 
as  he  was  preparing  to  flee  to  the  Dakotas  the  angry 
Hollanders  arrived,  unhitched  his  team,  and  told 
him  he  had  better  attend  to  business,  approve  the 
bonds,  and  place  their  men  in  office. 

A  Sioux  City  lawyer,  aided  by  Hospers,  pleaded 
the  merits  of  the  case  for  a  few  hours  while  the 
Orange  City  men  tended  to  their  horses  and  fried 
"bacon  and  ham  of  which  there  was  a  good  quantity, 
found  in  a  barrel  in  the  court-house."  All  argu- 
ments fell  upon  deaf  ears,  and  the  upshot  of  the 
controversy  was  that  the  visitors  called  upon  the 
county  treasurer  to  surrender  his  key  in  order  to 
give  them  access  to  the  county  records  and  docu- 
ments. When  they  obtained  a  key  which  failed  to 
open,  they  backed  a  sled  against  one  corner  of  the 
courthouse,  chopped  a  large  hole  in  the  building, 
let  down  the  steel  safe,  and  started  back  across  the 
prairies  in  a  blizzard.  All  arrived  home  at  mid- 
night, without  the  heavy  safe  which  was  stuck  in  a 


POLITICS  IN  SIOUX  COUNTY  237 

snowdrift.  "When  they  hauled  their  booty  into 
Orange  City  the  next  day,  it  is  said  that  "a  thousand 
guns  were  fired  in  honor  of  the  occasion."  Some 
days  later  the  sheriff  came  to  announce  that  the 
board  of  supervisors  would  capitulate,  and  so  with 
several  yoke  of  oxen  he  bore  the  safe  and  its  con- 
tents back  to  Calliope.  The  Hollanders,  however, 
had  won  their  first  victory  over  "the  trappers  and 
hunters"  of  the  Big  Sioux  River."11 

After  the  colonists  had  circulated  and  signed  a 
petition  requesting  the  removal  of  the  county  seat 
in  a  legal  manner,  they  outvoted  the  old  Calliope 
gang  and  secured  the  choice  of  Orange  City  as  the 
new  seat  of  justice.  At  the  same  time  they  retained 
Pelmulder,  Betten,  and  Hospers  in  office,  and  the 
next  year  added  Nicholas  Jongewaard  as  sheriff, 
leaving  three  offices  to  Americans.  Most  note- 
worthy was  the  fact  that  while  the  Dutch  of  Pella 
had  been  conservatively  Democratic  the  Dutch  of 
Sioux  County  were  overwhelmingly  Republican.  In 
1873  they  gave  Governor  Carpenter  ten  times  as 
many  votes  as  his  rival,  Jacob  G.  Vale.2" 

Early  in  1873  Sioux  County  was  sued  on  several 
thousands  of  dollars  worth  of  bonds  —  an  action 
which  Hospers  fought  through  several  years  of  liti- 
gation. The  Hollanders  had  found  the  county 
legally  organized  "in  the  hands  of  a  band  of  free- 
booters, buccaneers  of  the  prairies,  looters,  and 
grafters  who  had  gone  there  for  the  express  pur- 
pose of  organizing  the  form  of  a  county  govern- 
ment that  they  might  rob  it,  sell  its  securities,  and 


238  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

impose  a  burden  on  the  community  that  should  de- 
velop in  the  future." 

Dutch  citizens  were  thus  face  to  face  with  a  huge 
bonded  debt  of  thousands  of  dollars  for  which  they 
had  nothing  tangible  to  show.  In  May,  1874,  they 
voted  not  to  levy  a  ten-mill  tax  for  the  payment  of 
these  fraudulent  bond  issues.  Not  until  1876  did 
Hospers,  chairman  of  the  board  of  supervisors,  carry 
the  battle  to  a  victory  by  settling  the  case  out  of 
court  for  about  seven  hundred  dollars !  A  commit- 
tee of  the  State  legislature  in  1876  reported  that 
the  days  of  unprincipled  men  who  fattened  them- 
selves upon  the  credit  of  Sioux  County  had  passed 
away  and  that  affairs  were  economically  and  pru- 
dently managed.213 

During  the  summer  of  1874  a  courthouse  arose 
upon  the  public  square  at  Orange  City ;  and  in  1876 
a  jail  was  erected  and  a  poor-farm  was  laid  out 
near  town.  In  that  year  also  the  board  of  super- 
visors offered  a  premium  of  $2000  to  any  one  who 
should  discover  coal  in  the  county,  and  later  raised 
the  sum  to  $3000.  One  settler  some  years  before 
had  traded  his  homestead  for  mules  and  horses  and 
started  out  on  a  serious  search,  but  neither  he  nor 
any  one  else  ever  found  a  trace  of  coal.214 

One  of  the  important  political  events  of  the  year 
1874  in  Sioux  County  was  the  establishment  of  a 
Dutch  newspaper  by  Henry  Hospers  —  who  had  al- 
so founded  the  first  Dutch  newspaper  in  Marion 
County.  The  editor  declared  at  the  outset  that  his 
paper  was  not  to  be  the  organ  of  any  definite  politi- 


POLITICS  IN  SIOUX  COUNTY  239 

cal  principles;  nor  was  it  bound  to  any  party.  But, 
he  said,  ''we  propose  to  spare  no  effort  to  encourage 
good-will  and  harmony  among  our  colonists,  even 
though  it  may  become  our  unpleasant  duty  now  and 
then  to  expose  to  public  contempt  the  dealings  and 
intrigues  of  selfish  persons."  Elsewhere  Hospers 
proclaimed:  "We  propose  to  guard  the  interests 
of  our  colony,  to  promote  harmony,  to  fight  inter- 
ference with  our  united  strength  as  voters,  to  expose 
to  contempt  every  person  who  desires  disunion,  and 
to  publish  an  account  of  his  intrigues  and  personal 
conduct  in  such  plain  Dutch  language  that  every 
Holland- American  farmer  may  understand."  215 

In  Be  Volksvriend  (The  People's  Friend)  Hos- 
pers faithfully  reported  the  proceedings  of  the 
county  board  of  supervisors  and  also  translated  the 
proclamations  and  messages  of  the  governors.  He 
likewise  showed  an  active  interest  in  the  political 
movements  in  the  county,  especially  during  the  au- 
tumn of  1875.  A  county  convention  had  been  called 
where  the  delegates  from  American  townships  had 
not  merely  ignored  the  Hollanders  but  openly  raised 
the  slogan  of  ' '  Down  with  the  Dutch ! ' '  The  Yankee 
delegates  might  as  well  have  unfurled  a  banner  with 
the  motto:  "No  foreigner  in  office!"  The  Hol- 
landers who  represented  about  two-fifths  of  the 
voters  withdrew  in  disgust  and  allowed  the  Amer- 
icans to  arrange  their  own  program.  Be  Volks- 
vriend loudly  reprimanded  the  Americans  and  their 
candidates  for  slandering  the  Hollanders  in  order 


240  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

to  procure  votes,  and  accused  them  of  introducing 
such  a  nefarious  spirit  even  in  township  affairs. 

Three  days  before  election  the  editor  of  De 
Volksvriend  indignantly  asked:  "Will  you  allow 
this  sort  of  thing?  Drop  your  threshing  and  come 
to  the  polls  —  let's  vote  as  one  man  —  don't  let 
them  win  by  your  staying  at  home.  Bring  your 
neighbors  —  'eendracht  maakt  macht'  (in  union 
there  is  strength).  Don't  vote  for  Plumbe  but  for 
the  candidate  whose  name  you  will  find  on  our 
ticket." 

Great  was  Dutch  jubilation  when  election  results 
became  known.  De  Volksvriend  featured  the  news 
with  a  large  crowing  cock  and  two  columns  of  big 
type;  and  greeted  its  readers  as  follows:  "Well 
done  Hollanders!  Holland,  Nassau,  East  Orange 
and  Floyd  townships,  you  have  worked  as  one  man ! 
Our  whole  ticket  was  chosen  with  a  majority  of 
from  130  to  160.  It  showed  the  unanimity  of  our 
Hollanders  —  what  we  can  do  when  united.  Two 
Dutchmen  and  three  Americans  were  elected.  .  .  . 
Unprincipled  men  used  dishonorable  means  to  des- 
troy our  power,  but  with  Batavian  and  Frisian  fist- 
blows  their  Know-Nothing  designs  were  demolished. 
An  'Aesculapius'  even  intends  to  depart."216 

The  Hollanders  who  were  to  hold  office  during 
the  year  1876  were  Jelle  Pelmulder,  Anthony  J. 
Betten,  Francis  Le  Cocq,  Simon  Kuyper,  and  Henry 
Hospers;  while  the  six  other  officials,  including  two 
supervisors,  were  Americans.  Township  election 
returns  for  1875  showed  that  the  Hollanders  of  the 


POLITICS  IN  SIOUX  COUNTY  241 

four  townships  mentioned  above  cast  275  of  the 
entire  number  of  470  votes  in  the  county  for  Gov- 
ernor Samuel  J.  Kirkwood;  while  Democrats  from 
the  same  townships  were  responsible  for  only  40  of 
the  90  votes  in  the  county  for  Shepherd  Leffler. 
Since  1875  the  townships  of  Nassau,  Floyd,  and  East 
Orange,  with  their  strong  German  element,  have  of- 
ten gone  Democratic;  but  Holland,  Sherman,  Wel- 
come, and  West  Branch  townships  have  been  solidly 
Republican. 

With  the  exception  of  ante-Hollander  days,  Sioux 
County  has  always  produced  substantial  Republican 
majorities  for  Governors  and  very  large  ones  for 
Presidents.  For  instance,  the  voters  gave  Governor 
Cummins  1908  votes  in  1903  and  Sullivan  1027,  while 
in  1904  they  cast  2994  votes  for  Roosevelt  and  1151 
for  Parker.  In  several  townships  where  majorities 
were  ordinarily  Democratic  in  county  and  State 
elections,  Republicans  preponderated  at  presidential 
elections.  It  would  appear  from  this  fact  that  the 
Dutch  voter  tends  to  shirk  his  duty  to  vote.  Gen- 
erally speaking  the  Hollanders  have  faithfully  lis- 
tened to  the  call  of  their  Republican  leaders.  In 
late  years  they  have  chosen  to  ally  themselves  with 
the  progressive  wing  of  the  party,  but  they  have  not 
cared  to  draw  party  lines  too  closely  when  a  Dutch 
Democrat  and  an  American  Republican  were  candi- 
dates for  the  same  county  office:  one  Hollander,  a 
Democrat,  has  been  sheriff  for  about  twelve  years 
since  his  first  election  in  1891. 217 

To  show  that  the  Hollanders  are  a  factor  in  the 


242  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 


politics  of  Sioux  County  it  is  interesting  to  quote 
some  Dutch  names  and  statistics.  During  the  period 
from  1870  to  1912,  Anthony  J.  Betten  and  George  J. 
Bolks  held  the  office  of  county  treasurer  for  fifteen 
years ;  Anthony  J.  Betten,  Henry  J.  Lenderink,  Ed. 
de  Mots,  John  Boeyink,  and  Herman  Te  Paske 
served  twenty-two  years  as  auditors;  Francis  Le 
Cocq,  Henry  J.  Lenderink,  and  John  Jongewaard 
were  county  recorders  for  eighteen  years ;  Jelle  Pel- 
mulder  and  E.  C.  Oggel  were  clerks  of  court  for 
twenty-one  years;  Nicholas  Jongewaard,  Herman 
Betten,  Peter  R.  Schaap  and  Albert  Balkema  were 
sheriffs  for  twenty  years ;  Simon  Kuyper  and  John 
Kolvoord  superintended  schools  for  ten  years ;  Peter 
van  Oosterhout,  Anthony  Te  Paske,  and  John  W. 
Hospers  officiated  as  prosecuting  attorneys  for  four- 
teen years;  and  Albert  de  Bey,  John  Warnshuis, 
Frank  J.  >Huizenga,  Albert  C.  Jongewaard,  and  D. 
J.  G-leysteen  performed  the  duties  of  coroner  for 
nineteen  years.  As  members  of  the  board  of  super- 
visors the  Dutch  voters  have  elected  in  the  third 
district  Jacob  Koolbeek,  Anthony  J.  Betten,  Arie 
van  der  Meide,  and  Chas.  Harmelink,  and  Henry 
Hospers  and  Arnold  van  der  Wilt  in  other  dis- 
tricts.218 

Political  ideas  among  the  Hollanders  of  Sioux 
County  were  considerably  stimulated  when  the  Sioux 
Center  Nieuwsblad  and  De  Vrije  Hollander  (The 
Free  Hollander)  of  Orange  City  came  into  existence 
in  1892.  The  former  newspaper  and  De  Volksvriend 
have  supported  Republican  policies,  while  the  latter 


POLITICS  IN  SIOUX  COUNTY  243 


has  been  radically  Democratic.  The  first  editor  of 
De  Vrije  Hollander  threw  into  his  work  a  fiery  en- 
thusiasm and  partisanship  that  will  long  be  remem- 
bered by  his  readers.  No  more  characteristic  ex- 
pression of  his  views  can  be  cited  than  his  editorials 
during  the  administrations  of  McKinley  and  Roose- 
velt. He  did  not  hesitate  to  remonstrate  against  the 
former's  imperial  policy  as  indicated  by  the  war  in 
Cuba  and  the  Philippine  Islands ;  and  he  asked  Hol- 
landers how  they  could  remain  Republicans  while 
McKinley  and  Roosevelt  quietly  allowed  Great 
Britain  to  trample  upon  the  Transvaal  and  kill  the 
Boers,  a  people  of  Dutch  ancestry.  The  Hollanders 
of  America  —  as  well  as  those  perennial  enemies  of 
England,  the  Irish  —  naturally  advocated  American 
intervention  in  South  Africa,  and  many  did  not  for- 
give the  government  for  refusing  to  aid  the  South 
African  Dutch  in  their  struggle  against  "British 
lust".219     (See  Appendix  B.) 

Three  times  have  the  voters  of  Sioux  County  re- 
jected the  proposition  to  relocate  the  county  seat. 
Sioux  Center  asked  for  the  courthouse  in  1891  and 
1896,  and  Alton  citizens  offered  a  large  bonus  in 
1901.  Both  towns  were  decisively  defeated  at  the 
polls.  By  voting  in  favor  of  bonds  in  December, 
1901,  the  people  put  an  end  to  all  rivalry:  Orange 
City  obtained  for  all  time  a  beautiful  new  court- 
house and  county  jail.220 

Among  their  accomplishments  in  the  field  of  Re- 
publican politics  the  Hollanders  of  Sioux  County 
point  with  the  greatest  pride  to  the  election  of  Henry 


244  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 


Hospers  as  Representative  in  the  Twenty-second  and 
the  Twenty-third  General  Assemblies  and  later  as 
State  Senator  for  two  terms.  Founder  of  the  Dutch 
colony,  and  "guide,  philosopher,  and  friend"  to  the 
Hollanders  individually  and  collectively,  Hospers 
was  honored  not  only  by  them  but  also  by  other 
classes  of  immigrants  who  had  poured  into  Sioux 
County:  he  retained  his  leadership  because  he  pos- 
sessed the  qualities  of  integrity,  determination,  and 
courage.  An  Iowa  editor  observed  on  the  occasion 
of  Hospers 's  death  in  1901  that  he  "will  never  be 
accorded  half  the  honor  that  is  his  right  for  his  con- 
tribution to  developing  northwestern  Iowa.  He  was 
one  of  the  men  who  deserve  foremost  places  in  the 
history  of  a  great  State." -221 

Only  one  other  Hollander  has  reached  the  State 
House  of  Representatives  from  Sioux  County.  Ger- 
rit  Klay  of  Orange  City  came  to  America  in  1883  at 
the  age  of  sixteen,  engaged  in  farming,  later  applied 
himself  to  the  study  of  law,  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  1897,  and  obtained  a  seat  in  the  General  Assembly 
in  1908  and  again  in  1910.  At  the  same  time  the 
Dutch  of  Sioux  County  as  well  as  other  citizens  of 
the  "Big  Four"  senatorial  district  of  northwestern 
Iowa  have  recently  had  the  honor  of  being  repre- 
sented by  Nicholas  Balkema  of  Sioux  Center,  a  man 
who  was  born  in  the  Dutch  colony  of  Sheboygan 
County,  Wisconsin,  emigrated  to  Iowa  in  1884, 
gained  success  as  a  merchant,  and  in  1908  was  elected 
State  Senator.222 


XXX 

THE  DUTCH  PRESS  IN  IOWA 

Henry  P.  Scholte  and  Edwin  H.  Grant  formed  a 
partnership,  erected  a  two-story  building  for  the 
purposes  of  a  printing  establishment,  and  on  the  first 
of  February,  1855,  issued  the  initial  number  of  The 
Pella  Gazette  with  its  double  motto :  "Independent 
in  Everything"  and  "In  Deo  Spes  Nostra  et  Refu- 
gium."  The  reason  for  not  founding  a  newspaper 
in  the  Dutch  language  was  revealed  in  an  editorial 
which  is  characteristic  of  Scholte's  enthusiasm  and 
illustrative  of  his  hopes.  After  presenting  a  brief 
historical  sketch  of  the  town  of  Pella  he  concluded 
as  follows : 

The  consequence,  is,  that  at  present  the  native  Ameri- 
can population  in  and  around  the  town  has  become  about 
equal  to  the  number  of  the  foreign-born  and  naturalized 
citizens.  In  the  schools  the  English  language  is  predomi- 
nant and  the  Sabbath  School  is  taught  in  English.  This, 
together  with  inter-marriage  between  native  and  foreign- 
born  citizens,  will  leave  in  a  few  years  but  little  difference 
between  Pella  and  other  more  exclusive  American  towns. 
But  we  hope  that  the  renowned  industry,  order,  honesty 
and  piety  of  the  Holland  character  will  show  for  ages  their 
marks,  in  the  increasing  neatness  of  town  and  country,  in 
the  goodness  of  the  roads  and  highways,  in  the  most  scien- 
tific cultivation  of  the  soil,  in  the  scarcity  of  lawyers  and 

245 


246  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

lawsuits,  in  the  increase  of  schools  and  other  institutions 
of  learning,  and  in  the  multiplication  of  houses  of  religious 
worship. 

Scholte  had  acquired  a  good  speaking  knowledge 
of  the  English  language,  but  like  most  Hollanders 
experienced  no  little  difficulty  as  a  writer.  The  fol- 
lowing is  not  only  a  fair  specimen  of  his  style  dur- 
ing the  first  few  months,  but  also  an  indication  of 
his  feelings  on  a  subject  which  lay  close  to  his  heart 
and  caused  him  several  times  to  warn  his  American 
neighbors : 

We  must  finally  make  one  remark  about  the  Hollanders. 
Commonly  they  are  considered  Germans.  That  is  not  only 
untrue,  but  in  several  instances  it  is  considered  by  Hol- 
landers as  an  insult,  —  about  in  the  same  manner  as  if  one 
would  consider  a  native  of  England  as  an  Irishman.  Per- 
haps there  cannot  be  found  on  the  globe  one  nation  who  is 
naturally  more  apt  to  become  perfectly  identified  with  the 
American  nation  than  the  Hollanders. 

The  Empire  State  of  the  Union  has  given  indubitable 
proof  of  our  assertion,  and  there  is  no  fear  that  the  de- 
scendants of  a  people  who  held  out  against  Spain,  when  it 
was  in  its  full  blaze  of  glory,  who  drove  Louis  XIV  from 
their  soil,  where  he  had  already,  by  the  mismanagement  of 
their  own  momentary  magistrates,  penetrated  with  his 
armies  in  the  heart  of  their  country,  and  whose  republican 
heroes  burnt  the  royal  ships  of  Britain  in  the  sight  of  Lon- 
don, will  be  a  detriment  to  the  American  nation.  On  the 
contrary  when  Holland  solidity  is  united  with  American  in- 
quisitiveness  and  enterprise,  it  will  make  a  composition 
which  will  endure  the  severest  trials  and  prove  to  be  a  bene- 
fit to  the  State,  the  Union  and  the  World.223 


THE  DUTCH  PRESS  IN  IOWA  247 

The  fact  that  many  thousands  of  newspapers 
were  issued  throughout  the  United  States  to  millions 
of  eager  readers  excited  the  wonder  of  the  Hol- 
landers, who  had  been  accustomed  in  their  father 
land  to  club  together  for  the  reading  of  a  few  news- 
papers and  periodicals.  They  were  at  lirst  sur- 
prised to  find  that  every  American  town  of  impor- 
tance had  a  daily  or  a  weekly,  and  that  every  good 
American  read  his  own  newspaper,  sometimes  two 
or  three,  regularly;  but  when  they  discovered  the 
American's  intense  interest  in  politics  and  the  low 
price  of  American  newspapers  they  ceased  wonder- 
ing. They  learned  that  The  Weekly  New  York- 
Tribune  with  nearly  200,000  readers  cost  only  one 
dollar  per  year,  though  it  was  eight  times  the  size  of 
Het  Amsterdam  selie  Handelsblad.224 

In  a  community  where  the  majority  of  inhabi- 
tants could  read  Dutch  only,  Scholte  recognized  a 
need  and  accordingly  he  inserted  in  The  Pella 
Gazette  a  notice  headed:  "Hollandsche  Courant". 
He  promised  to  issue  a  Dutch  newspaper  for  the 
Hollanders  upon  receiving  the  guarantee  of  a  suf- 
ficient number  of  subscribers  at  the  rate  of  one  dol- 
lar and  a  half  a  year  in  advance.  The  Hollanders 
of  Pella,  however,  failed  to  take  advantage  of  the 
offer.225 

According  to  an  estimate  made  by  the  postmaster 
in  1856  the  number  of  newspapers  and  periodicals 
which  came  to  Pella  was  " extraordinarily  large". 
Among  them  were  two  newspapers  printed  in  Dutch  : 
Be  Hollander  from  Michigan  and   Be  Nieuwsbode 


248  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 


from  Wisconsin.  The  latter  by  its  unreasonably 
partisan  advocacy  of  Republican  principles  drove 
Scholte  to  devote  a  few  columns  of  his  newspaper  to 
news  which  might  be  read  by  the  Hollanders  at  Pella 
who  could  not  read  English.  " Several  times",  he 
declared,  ''I  have  been  asked  to  publish  a  Dutch 
newspaper.  Inasmuch  as  there  were  two  such  sheets 
in  existence,  and  the  Hollanders,  who  know  no  Eng- 
lish, are  in  general  not  busy  readers,  I  have  wavered 
and  always  said,  that  I  was  ready  whenever  they  of- 
fered me  a  subscription  list  which  would  guarantee 
expenses." 

Scholte  now  decided,  however,  to  print  several 
columns  of  news  in  the  Dutch  language,  and  he  de- 
clared that  in  case  the  subscribers  manifested  a  real, 
live  interest  he  would  either  continue  this  policy  or 
even  publish  a  separate  Dutch  newspaper.  Every- 
one who  approved  his  plan  was  urged  to  subscribe 
at  the  rate  of  one  dollar  for  a  half  year.  When  the 
period  had  expired,  Scholte  notified  his  readers  that 
''Holland  news  will  be  discontinued",  and  also  that 
he  would  publish  a  Dutch  newspaper,  Be  TJnie,  if  he 
could  get  seven  hundred  subscribers.  They  were 
promised  all  the  news,  civil  and  religious,  from  Hol- 
land and  the  United  States  that  was  worth  knowing. 
But  again  the  Hollanders  missed  their  oppor- 
tunity.226 

In  September,  1857,  The  Pella  Gazette  suddenly 
ceased  publication :  its  paper  supply  was  exhausted ; 
subscribers  failed  to  pay  their  subscriptions ;  Amer- 
icans refused  their  patronage ;  the  population  was  so 


THE  DUTCH  PRESS  IN  IOWA  249 

largely  Dutch ;  and  business  men  did  not  advertise. 
On  July  22,  1859,  the  Gazette  was  resuscitated  by  8. 
M.  Hammond  under  the  editorship  of  Scholte,  and 
it  flew  the  Republican  banner  for  campaign  purposes 
until  it  once  more  ceased  to  be  issued  on  February 
22, 1860.  Thereafter  Scholte  wrote  many  articles  on 
contemporaneous  politics  which  appeared  above  his 
signature  in  various  Iowa  newspapers.227 

The  Hollanders  of  Pella  in  the  year  1860  must 
have  kept  themselves  informed  on  current  events 
largely  through  the  medium  of  the  American  press 
of  Marion  County  and  through  Dutch  newspapers 
from  other  States.  Some  of  the  Hollanders,  es- 
pecially the  younger  generation,  were  now  well  able 
to  read  English;  but  the  Holland-born  members  of 
the  community  were  also  enabled  to  follow  national 
movements  by  reading  the  Dutch  newspapers  pub- 
lished in  Wisconsin  and  Michigan.  That  a  Dutch 
newspaper  had  not  yet  been  published  at  Pella  seems 
strange  when  there  were  between  two  and  three 
thousand  Hollanders  in  the  community. 

A  newspaper  in  the  Dutch  language  had,  how- 
ever, been  contemplated  for  some  time.  In  the  year 
1861  Rev.  P.  J.  Oggel  and  Henry  Hospers  canvassed 
the  situation,  secured  the  necessary  capital,  organ- 
ized an  association  of  ten  share-holders,  and  pur- 
chased the  printing-office  and  supplies  of  the  defunct 
Pella  Gazette.  On  the  28th  of  September,  1861,  Hos- 
pers issued  the  first  number  of  Pella 's  Weekblad. 
It  contained  American  and  European  news,  es- 
pecially news  from  Holland  and  the  Dutch  settle- 


250  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

ments  in  America,  editorials  on  politics,  translations 
of  Iowa  laws,  and  items  of  State  and  local  interest.228 

Since  Pella's  Weekblad  reported  only  political, 
social,  and  economic  affairs  and  lacked  religious 
news,  Pella's  Maandblad  began  to  appear  in  con- 
junction with  the  Weekblad  once  a  month  after  April, 
1862.  Edited  by  Eev.  P.  J.  Oggel  and  devoted  to  the 
interpretation  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  and  to  reli- 
gious news  from  all  sources,  this  publication  contin- 
ued until  its  editor  left  Pella  in  1863.229 

To  offset  the  Democratic  influence  of  Pella's 
Weekblad,  the  radically  Republican  Pella  Blade  ap- 
peared in  1865.  After  a  hard  struggle  to  survive  it 
came  into  the  hands  of  a  Dutch  newspaper  man,  H. 
Neyenesch,  under  whose  direction  for  over  twenty 
years  it  developed  into  the  foremost  Democratic 
newspaper  in  the  English  language  in  the  com- 
munity.230 

From  September,  1866,  until  his  death  in  1868, 
Scholte  published  Be  Toekomst  (The  Future),  a 
monthly  periodical  devoted  to  religion.  In  his  "In 
Memoriam"  at  the  time  of  Scholte 's  death  on  August 
25, 1868,  the  editor  of  Pella's  Weekblad  asserted  that 
it  would  be  impossible  for  people  "to  forget  the 
pearls  of  wisdom  which  lie  collected  in  his  monthly 
De  Toekomst,  and  which  he  has  left  behind  as  a 
legacy,  as  it  were,  to  believers,  to  testify  to  his 
comprehensive  knowledge  of  the  Bible  and  his  clear 
insight  into  the  living  realities  of  the  Gospel."231 

In  March,  1867,  Gerrit  van  Ginkel,  who  had 
learned  the  printer's  trade  on  Pella's  Weekblad,  be- 


THE  DUTCH  PRESS  IN  IOWA  251 

gan  the  publication  of  a  Republican  newspaper  in 
the  Dutch  language,  De  Pella  Gazette.  He  discoo 
tinued  the  enterprise  in  1869,  contracted  with  the 
Weekblad  to  assume  the  obligations  of  his  unexpired 
subscriptions,  and  later  amassed  a  considerable  for- 
tune as  a  result  of  business  ventures  at  Des  Moines 
and  in  the  cities  of  Springfield,  Illinois,  and  Dallas, 
Texas.232 

Pella' s  Weekblad  has  always  been  widely  read 
among  the  Hollanders  of  Pella  and  vicinity.  There 
was  a  time  when  the  Weekblad  had  agents  at  Keo- 
kuk, Iowa;  Grand  Rapids,  Grand  Haven,  Holland, 
and  Kalamazoo,  Michigan;  Little  Chute,  Appleton, 
Milwaukee,  Green  Bay,  Cedar  Grove,  Amsterdam, 
and  Woodland,  Wisconsin;  Paterson,  New  Jersey: 
Roxbury,  Massachusetts;  Clearwater,  Minnesota; 
Excelsior  Mills,  Illinois;  and  also  in  The  Nether- 
lands. Henry  Hospers,  the  first  editor,  eventual]} 
sold  his  establishment  to  H.  Neyenesch  in  June,  1870, 
and  went  to  live  among  the  energetic,  young  colonists 
of  Sioux  County. 

The  Weekblad  in  1880  could  boast  that  it  was  one 
of  the  largest  Dutch  newspapers  in  the  United  States 
with  subscribers  in  nearly  every  State  and  Terri- 
tory, and  with  the  largest  circulation  of  any  news- 
paper in  Marion  County.  It  had  a  Dutch  rival  in 
Pella' s  Nieuwsblad  for  over  two  years  previous  to 
October  4,  1901.  Pella's  Weekblad  has  continued 
down  to  date,  owned  and  published  by  H.  F.  John 
son  &  Co.,  and  although  newspapers  from  Holland 
and  from  other  Dutch-American  settlements  are  to 


252  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 


be  found  among  the  inhabitants,  except  for  De 
Christelijke  Uitdeeler,  a  monthly  religious  magazine 
published  by  K.  van  Stigt,  it  is  the  only  Dutch  news- 
paper printed  among  the  Hollanders  of  south  central 
Iowa.233 

Newspapers  in  the  Dutch  language  have  been 
more  numerous  among  the  Hollanders  of  Sioux 
County.  Pella's  Weekblad  has  always  circulated 
among  them  to  a  limited  extent.  The  Sioux  County 
Herald  —  removed  from  Calliope  to  Orange  City  — 
for  a  time  printed  some  news  in  the  Dutch  language. 
On  June  18, 1874,  however,  Henry  Hospers,  who  had 
been  the  founder  of  Pella's  Weekblad,  issued  the 
first  number  of  De  Volksvriend,  which  "humbly 
made  its  bow  and  timidly  took  its  place  among  the 
well-directed  Dutch  newspapers  of  America."  The 
editor  expressed  himself  further  as  follows : 

To  accomplish  our  aims  in  issuing  De  Volksvriend  de- 
mands more  ability  than  we  know  we  possess.  Our  purpose 
is  great,  our  powers  small !  If  we  stop  to  consider  the  well- 
directed  Dutch  newspapers  published  in  America,  we  hardly 
dare  take  up  our  pen;  if  we  look  at  our  beautiful  Dutch 
language,  so  rich  in  expression  as  we  read  it  in  our  ex- 
changes from  The  Netherlands,  we  take  fright,  for  we  have 
received  a  training  more  American  than  Dutch.  We  almost 
refuse  to  place  our  name  at  the  top  of  this  page  as  editor. 
But  our  purpose  gives  us  courage ;  even  if  we  feel  unfit  for 
the  task,  our  purpose  strengthens  us.     .     .     . 

It  is  not  to  kick  a  little  paper  into  the  world  for  finan- 
cial profit.  But  it  is  our  aim  to  point  out  to  our  fellow- 
Hollanders  a  magnificent  spot  of  God's  earth  where  there 
is  plenty  of  opportunity,  much  promise,  for  many  a  Dutch 


THE  DUTCH  PRESS  IN  TOWA  253 

household,  where  the  Lord  out  of  His  grace,  by  the  conver- 
sion of  numerous  persons,  has  shown  He  is  well  pleased, 
where  there  is  abundant  opportunity  to  train  the  rising 
generation.  And  now  to  make  the  facts  known  far  and 
wide,  to  attract  the  attention  of  emigrants  to  our  colony  — 
to  that  end  we  shall  devote  De  Volksvriend,  we  as  well  as 
others  shall  write  articles,  and  we  hope  our  fellow-colon  ists 
will  help  us  spread  De  Volksvriend. 

Accordingly,  De  Volksvriend  in  the  early  years 
was  full  of  information  intended  to  attract  foreign 
immigration  to  the  new  Dutch  colony.  The  excel- 
lence of  the  soil  and  all  other  advantages  were  con- 
tinually advertised.  Netherlanders  in  Europe  were 
strongly  urged  to  come:  "If  you  have  no  money, 
all  you  need  is  a  good  body  with  two  strong  arms  and 
health;  and  if  you  have  children,  they  are  the  best 
capital  you  can  bring  to  America."  De  Volksvriend 
also  printed  much  foreign  news,  especially  from  The 
Netherlands,  together  with  items  of  interest  from 
Pella;  and  it  furnished  its  readers  with  general 
American  news.234 

Locust  ravages  nearly  brought  De  Volksvriend 
as  well  as  the  whole  Dutch  colony  to  an  untimely 
and  disastrous  end.  Many  times  the  editor  threat- 
ened to  cease  publication  unless  his  readers  paid 
their  subscriptions  or  signed  notes  for  the  amounts 
due.  At  one  time  things  had  come  to  such  a  pass 
that  the  readers  were  notified  to  call  at  the  printing- 
office  in  person  if  they  wished  to  get  their  copies! 
On  the  other  hand,  the  editor  used  his  newspaper  in 
those  dark  days  to  encourage  and  cheer  his  miserable 


254  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

Dutch  friends  and  neighbors.  Hospers'  faith  and 
confidence  that  the  country  would  ultimately  emerge 
into  the  sunshine  of  prosperity  were  to  no  small  de- 
gree communicated  to  the  people  through  the  col- 
umns of  De  Volksvriend.235 

Published  for  many  years  by  H.  P.  Oggel,  editor 
also  of  De  Heidenwereld  (The  Heathenworld),  a 
monthly  missionary  magazine,  De  Volksvriend  has 
had  rivals  in  the  field  since  March,  1892,  when  the 
Sioux  Center  Nieuwsblad  first  appeared,  and  Sep- 
tember, 1892,  when  De  Vrije  Hollander  was  founded 
at  Orange  City  by  Martin  P.  van  Oosterhout.  In 
late  years  Charles  H.  van  der  Meulen  and  Peter  van 
Donselaar  have  owned  the  Sioux  Center  Nieuivsblad, 
and  Henry  Toering  has  published  De  Vrije  Hol- 
lander as  a  semi-weekly.236 

All  of  these  newspapers  have  circulated  among 
the  Hollanders  of  Sioux,  Lyon,  O'Brien,  and  Ply- 
mouth counties  and  other  localities  in  Iowa  to  which 
Hollanders  have  removed;  all  are  read  by  the  Hol- 
landers who  have  left  Iowa  to  try  their  fortunes  in 
Canada,  the  Dakotas,  Minnesota,  Colorado,  Wash- 
ington, Kansas,  Illinois,  Michigan,  and  other  States. 
One  characteristic  of  these  Sioux  County  news- 
papers and  of  Pella's  Weekblad  is  the  large  amount 
of  space  set  aside  for  correspondence  from  Dutch 
communities  not  only  in  the  neighborhood,  but  also 
in  distant  States :  local  personal  news  is  chronicled 
every  week  and  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  readers 
who  wish  to  keep  in  touch  with  friends  and  relatives. 

Besides  the  editors  and  publishers  of  Dutch  news- 


THE  DUTCH  PRESS  IN  IOWA  255 

papers,  there  are  several  Hollanders  who  own  and 
operate  other  newspapers  and  printing  establish- 
ments in  Sioux  and  other  counties:  Isaac  Hospers 
edits  The  Sioux  County  Herald;  John  F.  J).  Aue  di- 
rects The  Alton  Democrat;  Wm.  C.  Mmlenburg  lias 
recently  purchased  The  Grant  Chief;  J.  W.  Vander- 
burg  &  Co.  own  The  Sheldon  Mail;  the  Southerland 
Courier  is  in  the  hands  of  Gr.  H.  Vos;  The  Monroe 
Mirror  and  Marne  Free  Press  are  owned  by  J.  Yan- 
dermast  and  Dirk  Tollenaar,  respectively;  The  W<n<- 
kon  Standard  is  published  by  John  DeWild,  and  The 
Evening  Times  and  The  Cedar  Rapids  Republican 
are  edited  by  Cyrenus  Cole,  a  native  of  Pella. 

Newspapers  in  the  Dutch  language  will  exist  as 
long  as  Dutch  immigrants  continue  to  find  homes 
in  the  communities  of  their  people  in  Iowa;  and  they 
will  prevent  the  entire  disappearance  or  disuse  of 
the  Dutch  language  among  the  American-born  child- 
ren of  foreign-born  parents.  As  the  years  pass, 
Hollanders  of  the  younger  generation  who  receive 
their  early  training  in  American  public  schools  tend 
to  become  more  and  more  accustomed  to  the  speak- 
ing of  English ;  but  Dutch  newspapers  with  their  re- 
ports of  local  news  will  be  one  of  the  potent  factors 
which  will  enable  children  of  Dutch  parentage  to 
retain  at  least  a  fair  reading  and  conversational 
knowledge  of  their  native  tongue.  (See  Appen- 
dix C.) 


XXXI 

PIONEER  SCHOOLS  AMONG  THE 
HOLLANDERS 

Dutch  colonists  of  New  Amsterdam  in  1621  are 
commonly  credited  with  having  founded  a  little 
school  which  became  the  model  for  an  enormous  pub- 
lic school  system  covering  the  United  States  and  all 
its  Territories.  Dutch  immigrants  to  America  have 
come  from  a  land  which  has  long  prided  itself  on  the 
high  standard  of  both  its  lower  schools  and  its  uni- 
versities. And  so  competent  Dutch  parents  who 
watch  the  education  of  their  children  in  American 
common  schools  seldom  fail  to  compare  the  systems 
in  Holland  and  America  and  complain  not  a  little  of 
American  superficiality  and  lack  of  thoroughness. 
One  of  the  motives  assigned  for  the  emigration 
in  1846  and  1847  was  the  desire  of  many  Hollanders 
to  educate  their  children  in  the  principles  of  the 
Christian  faith.  Not  only  the  Dutch  government 
but  also  the  mass  of  the  Dutch  people  were  hostile 
to  the  new  Separatist  congregations  which  elected 
to  worship  God  according  to  the  Bible  rather  than 
according  to  government  regulations.  And  so  when 
the  Separatists  insisted  upon  their  right  to  educate 
their  children  in  Christian  schools  in  the  fear  of  the 
Lord,    they    encountered    strong    local    opposition. 

256 


PIONEER  SCHOOLS  257 


When  the  enjoyment  of  real  Christian  liberty  became 
a  vain,  forlorn  hope,  they  were  forced,  after  years  of 
persecution,  to  look  away  from  the  home  and  colo- 
nial policy  of  intolerance  in  Holland  to  a  land  of 
civil  and  religious  liberty. 

Two  leaders  of  the  persecuted  congregations 
asked  the  people  of  Holland : 

Is  it  not  true  that,  as  the  clamor  for  better  instruction 
and  education  becomes  louder,  even  the  chief  advocates  of 
the  present  system  complain  of  retrogression?  And  must 
not  thousands  of  professing  Christians  educated  under  the 
present  system  blush  at  the  question  whether  they  know  God 
and  Jesus  Christ  better  than  to  use  their  all-glorious  names 
merely  to  blaspheme  ? 

And  are  not  those  who  pray  God,  and  even  offer  to 
undertake  the  trouble  and  expense  to  establish  their  own 
Christian  schools  and  do  something  to  save  this  sinking  na- 
tion, are  not  they  opposed  and  checked  at  every  step  of  the 
way ;  do  not  local  government  bodies  evade  giving  the  per- 
mits which  the  law  commands,  and  are  they  not  supported 
in  this  by  nearly  all  who  call  themselves  noble  and  religious  ? 
A  few  local  government  bodies  which  would  like  to  grant 
to  inhabitants  what  the  law  allows  do  not  dare  do  so,  be- 
cause they  fear  that  they  will  fall  into  disfavor  with  men 
higher  up.237 

Elsewhere  the  same  clergymen  asserted : 
With  our  lack  of  the  goods  of  this  world,  we  feel  the 
pressure  of  a  Government  which  encroaches  upon  the  ten- 
derest  rights  of  the  father  and  compels  him  to  choose  be- 
tween two  extremes  both  of  which  lead  to  wretchedness: 
either  to  let  his  children  grow  up  in  ignorance  or  send  them 
to  schools  where  according  to  his  innermost   convictions 


258  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

they  are  corrupted ;  where  the  Bible,  the  Word  of  God,  the 
soul's  food,  the  pure  river  of  the  water  of  life  which  satis- 
fies the  thirst  and  hunger  even  of  children  is  denied ;  denied 
upon  request  of  persons  who  either  bow  down  before  images 
or  teach  that  children  should  not  be  burdened  with  the  Word 
of  God ;  and  who  ....  agree  upon  the  theory  which 
dishonors  God  and  exalts  man,  viz.,  by  your  works,  at  least 
partly  by  your  works,  shall  ye  be  saved,  and  not  merely  by 
your  faith!  And  are  there  not  clear  indications  that  the 
conscientious  teacher  is  censured  for  giving  instruction  in 
the  Bible  and  accused  of  breaking  the  law,  for  which  he 
must  under  all  circumstances  lose  his  position  ?  238 

Christian  education  for  their  children,  therefore, 
became  one  of  the  things  for  which  Hollanders  ex- 
pected to  provide  as  soon  as  they  built  homes  upon 
American  soil.  But  when  they  had  entered  upon 
their  American  farms  in  Marion  County,  they  dis- 
covered that  what  was  needed  most  and  first  of  all 
was  hands  to  help  bring  nature  under  subjection. 
All  who  were  able  to  work  were  called  upon  to  press 
their  physical  strength  into  service.  The  Hol- 
landers perceived  that  for  the  time  being  it  was  not 
so  much  religion  and  religious  education  as  the 
struggle  for  existence  which  demanded  the  best  ef- 
forts of  old  and  young.  Scholte  himself  complained 
that  "the  things  of  this  world"  and  "the  new, 
strange,  and  busy  pressure  of  life  in  our  present  un- 
settled condition  contribute  much  to  shatter  our 
ideals".  And  he  also  said:  "Nearly  everyone  ap- 
pears to  be  so  taken  up  with  his  own  strange  en- 
vironment as  to  be  lost  in  it",  and  "the  American 


PIONEER  SCHOOLS  l>:,:i 


love    of   material    things    is    more    attractive    than 
Heaven."239 

From  the  very  nature  of  things,  when  the  Dutch 
settlers  had  spent  most  of  their  money  upon  farm-. 
buildings,  and  stock,  they  had  only  their  hands  and 
bodies  left.  The  Dutch  farmer  who  had  several  sons 
in  his  family  considered  himself  especially  fortunate. 
Since  there  was  abundant  work  to  do  upon  the  farms 
and  no  capital  to  invest  in  hired  labor,  boys  came  to 
be  looked  upon  as  valuable  assets,  and  they  were  ac- 
cordingly called  upon  to  furnish  their  share  of 
labor  —  all  at  the  expense  of  education.  Thus  only 
boys  and  girls  of  tender  years  found  their  way  into 
school. 

During  the  early  months  James  Muntingh  con- 
verted his  log  house  into  a  school  room;  and  here 
for  three  years  he  is  said  to  have  given  sound  in- 
struction in  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic  —  to 
children  by  day  and  to  other  persons  by  candlelight. 
He  devoted  much  time  to  the  languages :  Dutch  was 
translated  into  English  and  English  into  Dutch,  and 
pupils  were  thoroughly  trained  to  read  and  write 
both  languages.  Indeed,  the  only  child  of  American 
parents  living  in  Pella  at  that  time  learned  Dutch 
so  well  that  he  never  forgot  it.240 

In  April,  1848,  Henry  P.  Scholte  was  elected 
township  school  inspector.  No  one  could  have  been 
better  qualified  for  the  position,  though  many  of  his 
friends  also  were  "men  of  education,  refinement,  and 
a  high  order  of  intelligence".  Scholte  had  the  honor 
to  be  a  graduate  of  the  famous  Dutch  University 


260  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

of  Leyden,  and  so  was  imbued  with  the  highest 
academic  ideals.  He  took  a  deep  concern  in  his 
humble  duties  as  school  inspector  of  Lake  Prairie 
Township.  He  divided  the  township  into  five  school 
districts  and  at  once  organized  the  Pella  district 
where  Muntingh's  private  school  had  already  ex- 
isted for  a  few  months.  Moreover,  he  established  a 
second  district  near  the  Skunk  Eiver  where  the 
Dutch  inhabitants  soon  built  a  house  for  their 
school-master.241 

Not  until  April  or  May  of  the  year  1848 
did  the  Pella  colonists  complete  a  building 
twenty-five  feet  wide  and  twice  as  long,  which 
was  to  serve  a  double  purpose  as  church  and  school 
room.  This  small  structure  possessed  an  unplaned 
board  exterior  and  a  rough  interior  with  cross-beams 
of  forest  timber.  Within  stood  crude  backless  pews 
of  rough  boards  and  a  few  school  benches  made  after 
a  genuine  old-Dutch  pattern.  Over  this  township 
school  Scholte  appointed  Isaac  Overkamp  as  master 
and  Henry  Hospers  as  reserve.  In  November,  1848, 
the  children  were  receiving  instruction  in  both  Dutch 
and  English,  similar  to  that  obtained  by  old  and 
young  in  Muntingh's  private  school.242 

The  school-master  at  Pella  taught  his  pupils  what 
the  parents  desired  in  the  way  of  Christian  prin- 
ciples for  the  development  of  Christian  character. 
Every  morning  the  opening  exercises  consisted  of 
prayer,  the  singing  of  a  Psalm,  and  instruction  in 
biblical  history.  Many  years  afterward  it  was  as- 
serted that  as  a  teacher  of  biblical  history  for  chil- 


PIONEER  SCHOOLS  261 


dren  and  of  doctrine  for  adults,  Isaac  Overkamp  had 
never  been  surpassed  in  Pella,  and  that  "during 
Pella's  first  twenty  years  he  did  more  real  good 
than  most  ministers  do  in  fifty  or  sixty  years  of 
service. ' ' 243 

As  many  families  of  Americans  found  homes  in 
Pella  and  the  village  grew  larger,  the  citizens  were 
forced  to  consider  the  question  of  what  kind  of  a 
schoolhouse  should  be  built  —  for  as  late  as  April, 
1855,  they  had  used  any  sort  of  makeshift  for  the  ac- 
commodation of  their  children.  Was  "a  crowded, 
ill-furnished,  uncomfortable  room,  opening  upon  a 
business  street  or  dirty  alley,  without  shade  tree, 
playground,  or  any  other  pleasant  object  to  it  ...  . 
as  favorable  to  a  healthy  physical,  intellectual,  and 
moral  development,  as  an  edifice  whose  interior  com- 
bines comfort,  beauty,  and  convenience;  whose  ex- 
terior is  elegant,  and  is  surrounded  by  that  child- 
ren's paradise,  a  playground,  provided  with  a  neat 
fence,  shade  trees,  and  other  comforts?" 

The  editor  of  a  Pella  newspaper  addressed  the 
parents  as  follows : 2i* 

Surely  the  good  people  of  Pella  will  not  much  longer 
consent  to  send  their  children  to  school  in  a  room  rented  as 
opportunity  may  permit  without  regard  to  comfort,  con- 
venience or  suitability.  We  know  there  is  a  college  going 
up  in  our  midst  and  right  glad  and  proud  are  we  of  it ;  but 
a  college  is  not  our  school-house,  our  public  school,  the  great 
aorta  of  our  nation,  the  glory  and  safety  of  our  free  insti- 
tutions ;  which  ought  to  receive  our  first  and  best  care.    We 


262  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

are  not  now  going  to  write  a  defense  of  public  schools  but 
about  a  school-house  in  Pella. 

In  many  of  the  older  States,  especially  in  New  England, 
New  York  and  Ohio,  a  course  of  instruction  is  adopted  called 
Union  Schools,  and  is  fast  superseding  the  older  method  in 
cities,  villages  and  thickly  populated  country  districts. — 
Most  of  us  are  familiar  with  the  old  method.  The  towns 
and  villages  were  districted,  and  a  small  house  consisting 
of  one  room  twenty  or  twenty-five  feet  square  was  built  in 
each  ward  or  district  in  which  all  of  a  lawful  age  who  chose 
to  do  so,  attended  school.  Over  this  motley  group  presided 
one  teacher,  who  had  to  care  for  and  instruct  all,  from  the 
young  tyro  in  his  abs,  to  the  young  man  in  philosophy. 
Many  of  us  could  record  some  strange  experiences,  es- 
pecially in  the  winter  session,  when  the  school  was  often- 
times three  times  as  large  as  in  the  summer,  without  any 
additional  room. 

According  to  the  Union  School  method,  one  large  house 
is  erected  sufficient  to  accommodate  all  the  pupils  in  the 
place,  and  more  too,  if  they  choose  to  come  from  less  fa- 
vored places;  (and  they  will  come.)  A  principal  is  placed 
at  the  head  of  the  school  and  under  his  supervision  and 
general  control,  is  placed  a  corps  of  efficient  teachers.  The 
pupils  are  classed  according  to  their  attainments  and  each 
teacher  has  his  own  class  or  grade,  in  a  distinct  apartment 
and  thus  can  attend  to  fifty  pupils  with  less  labor  to  him- 
self, and  more  profit  to  them,  than  twenty-five  in  the  old 
way.  A  general  plan  of  instruction  is  adopted  and  perse- 
vered in,  so  the  mind  of  the  pupil  is  not  confused  by  the 
different  methods  of  succeeding  teachers,  as  is  too  often  the 
case  in  our  common  schools.  Thus  Order  and  System, 
which  are  Heaven's  first  law,  and  the  secret  of  success  'in 
almost  any  enterprise  are  secured. 


PIONEER  SCHOOLS  263 

In  the  autumn  of  1854  the  Baptists  of  Pel  hi  se- 
cured a  two-story  brick  building  of  several  rooms 
and  at  once  opened  an  academic  department  as  the 
modest  beginning  of  what  they  intended  should  later 
become  a  university.  Early  in  the  year  1855  iifty- 
six  boys  had  enrolled  in  the  "men's  department" 
under  two  men  instructors,  and  thirty-five  girls  in 
the  "ladies'  department",  under  a  lady  teacher. 
The  pupils  were  taught  preparatory  branches.  At 
the  same  time  the  Hollanders  of  Pella  maintained 
a  separate  school  with  Isaac  Overkamp  and  Herman 
Neyenesch  as  the  district  teachers,  who  gave  in- 
struction in  both  Dutch  and  English.  Obviously  the 
Dutch  inhabitants  of  the  city  did  not  patronize  their 
school  to  a  very  large  extent,  for  the  population  of 
Pella  would  have  warranted  a  much  larger  corps  of 
teachers.245 

In  1856,  after  eight  years  of  existence  without  a 
good  schoolhouse  and  without  adequate  instruction, 
the  citizens  of  Pella  rejoiced  to  know  that  a  large 
two-story  brick  schoolhouse  and  a  three-story  college 
hall  were  being  erected,  and  they  hoped  soon  to  be 
able  to  say  "that  in  these  fine  buildings,  fine  teach- 
ers, receiving  fine  salaries,  are  training  our  youth 
to  virtue  and  piety,  developing  their  intellects  and 
storing  their  minds  with  useful  knowledge."  -40 

Common  schools  in  those  days  were  dependent 
upon  taxes  and  tuition.  The  teachers  divided  all 
tuition  money  and  received  a  share  of  the  school 
fund,  which  was  a  fixed  sum  for  each  pupil  taught. 


264  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

When,  on  New  Year's  Day,  1857,  the  editor  of  the 
Pella  newspaper  congratulated  the  people  of  the 
town  on  the  completion  of  a  school  building  for  the 
use  of  both  Hollanders  and  Americans,  he  offered 
only  one  objection  to  the  arrangements  which  had 
been  made  for  education : 247 

The  facilities  for  public  instruction  should  be  such  as 
to  place  its  benefits  within  the  reach  of  every  inhabitant, 
and  it  is  clear  that  high  rates  of  tuition  are  a  material  ob- 
struction to  this  desideratum.  According  to  the  regulations 
of  the  District  School  in  this  place,  the  tuition  at  the  insti- 
tution is  eight  dollars  a  year  for  each  pupil.  This  is  too 
high,  and  too  heavy  a  tax  upon  such  of  our  citizens  as 
enjoy  only  a  scanty  share  of  this  world's  goods.  If  the 
benefits  of  public  instruction  shall  be  rendered  general  these 
rates  must  be  considerably  reduced  —  and  if  means  could 
be  devised  to  dispense  with  them  entirely,  it  would  be  bet- 
ter yet. 

The  free  school  is  the  institution  for  a  country  where 
the  sovereignty  is  vested  in  the  people,  and  where  every 
individual  has  his  share  in  shaping  the  course  followed  in 
the  conduct  of  public  affairs.  Individual  prosperity  and 
social  welfare  being  closely  connected,  and  the  latter  de- 
pending chiefly  upon  the  management  of  public  business, 
and,  consequently,  upon  the  intelligence  of  the  mass  of  the 
people,  the  extension  of  proper  instruction  to  all  classes  of 
society  is  a  matter  of  the  highest  importance  to  every  mem- 
ber of  the  community.  A  school  tax,  sufficient  for  its  pur- 
pose, and  levied  indiscriminately  on  those  who  send  children 
to  school,  and  on  those  who  don't,  therefore,  is  not  only  a 
just  measure,  but  the  only  measure  to  secure  the  continu- 
ance of  social  harmony  and  prosperity. 


PIONEER  SCHOOLS  265 

In  March,  1858,  a  new  school  law  went  into  force 
throughout  the  State  of  Iowa.  Thenceforth  a  heav- 
ier tax  was  levied  upon  the  people  for  the  payment 
of  school-teachers,  and  tuition  fees  were  abolished. 
Parents  were  informed  that  free  schools  removed 
all  reason  or  excuse  for  not  sending  their  children  to 
school  under  pretence  of  poverty.  To  insure  com- 
petent teachers  all  applicants  were  obliged  to  secure 
certificates  from  the  county  superintendent,  a  new 
officer.248 

In  the  spring  of  1858  the  citizens  of  Pella  were 
summoned  to  cast  their  ballots  for  school  directors. 
An  editorial  by  Scholte  reveals  the  prevailing  condi- 
tion of  local  politics  everywhere : 249 

It  is  necessary  that  every  one  takes  the  subject  to  heart. 
Pecuniary  as  well  as  educational  interests  are  involved,  and 
it  will  be  wise  to  elect  men  of  acknowledged  integrity  and 
capability,  who  are  willing  to  work  for  the  well-being  of 
society.  There  is  a  scheme  on  foot  to  bring  the  management 
of  the  schools  under  the  control  of  a  class  of  men  who  are 
known  as  Know-Nothings.  The  citizens  ought  to  be  on 
their  guard,  and  to  keep  the  dark  lantern  out  of  their 
schools.    In  the  school,  at  least,  we  want  light. 

The  citizens  of  this  Township,  as  well  as  those  of  Pella, 
have  the  power  to  nip  this  scheme  in  the  bud,  if  they  will 
only  use  it,  and  beware  of  the  evil  counsels  of  designing 
men,  who  act  upon  the  Satanic  principle,  " divide  and 
rule.'''  Let  the  citizens  freely  exchange  their  ideas  in  rela- 
tion to  the  persons  and  measures  to  be  voted  for  on  the  first 
Monday  in  May  next.  We  owe  this  to  the  rising  genera- 
tion, as  well  as  to  the  society  in  which  we  live. 


XXXII 

CHRISTIAN  SCHOOLS 

That  religious  instruction  played  no  great  part  in 
common  schools  among  the  Hollanders  is  shown  by 
the  fact  that  the  agitation  for  a  Christian  school  be- 
gan many  years  after  they  arrived  in  Iowa.  Rev.  A. 
C.  van  Raalte,  the  founder  of  the  Dutch  colony  in 
Michigan  and  a  strong  personal  friend  of  Scholte, 
came  to  Pella  early  in  the  year  1859  to  preach  for 
five  weeks  to  the  pastorless  congregation  of  the 
Dutch  Reformed  Church.  But  according  to  his  own 
assertion  he  wished  primarily  to  interest  the  Hol- 
landers of  Pella  in  Christian  education.  At  a  series 
of  meetings  he  provoked  much  discussion  relative  to 
the  advisability  of  founding  a  Sunday-school  and  a 
parochial  school,  but  he  could  not  persuade  the 
people  to  act. 

In  the  month  of  January,  1861,  on  the  occasion  of 
his  third  visit  to  Pella,  however,  it  seems,  that  van 
Raalte  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  his  ideas  bear 
fruit.  At  a  meeting  held  on  the  19th  of  February, 
1861,  a  committee  selected  by  the  Dutch  Reformed 
Church  to  consider  the  matter  recommended  that  a 
parochial  school  be  established  and  that  sufficient 
financial  support  be  offered.  The  recommendation 
was  adopted:     the  first  corps  of  teachers  consisted 

266 


CHRISTIAN  SCHOOLS  267 

of  Isaac  Overkamp,  Herman  Neyenesch,  and  John 
Stubcnrauch.  Others  served  later ;  but  by  the  month 
of  February,  1867,  the  school  had  ceased  to  exist. 
Indeed,  had  it  not  been  for  the  fact  that  the  pew 
rentals  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  had  brought 
in  one  thousand  dollars  more  than  necessary  to  sup- 
port the  church  each  year,  the  parochial  school  would 
have  breathed  its  last  three  years  before  —  just  as  a 
school  established  by  members  of  the  Second  Dutch 
Reformed  Church  had  done  in  1863.  These  two 
Christian  schools  had  provided  elementary  instruc- 
tion in  the  Dutch  language  and  in  the  catechism  with 
the  idea  of  enabling  children  to  understand  preach- 
ing in  the  Dutch  churches.250 

The  disappearance  of  these  institutions  was  a 
sad  reflection  upon  church-going  Hollanders  who  had 
been  such  strong  advocates  of  the  superiority  of 
Christian  schools.  Scholte  cited  to  them  the  case 
of  Protestant  parents  who  sent  their  children  to 
Roman  Catholic  convent  schools  not  from  a  predi- 
lection for  that  church  and  her  doctrines,  but 
in  order  to  obtain  superior  training  in  discipline, 
in  knowledge,  and  in  the  cultivation  of  good 
taste  and  refinement.  The  Hollanders  of  Pella 
had  regarded  the  privileges  of  government  schools  in 
Holland  as  too  meager  and  limited  to  conduce  to 
well-rounded  development  in  child  life :  they  looked 
upon  the  training  as  superficial  and  the  atmosphere 
as  unsuitable  for  the  growth  of  Christian  principles 
in  the  minds  of  children.  And  yet  they  did  not 
maintain  Christian  schools  at  Pella.      Were  Amer- 


268  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

ican  conditions  to  blame  for  this!  Like  the  first 
Dutch  settlers  of  Michigan  the  Hollanders  of  Iowa 
carelessly  allowed  their  educational  program  to  end 
in  failure.251 

In  recent  years,  however,  the  idea  of  Christian 
education  has  revived  and  the  Hollanders  of  the 
Christian  Reformed  Church  in  Iowa  can  already 
point  with  pride  to  four  parochial  schools.  The  dif- 
ficulty of  giving  public  schools  a  distinctively 
Christian  tone  became  more  and  more  pronounced: 
the  introduction  of  formal  instruction  in  Christian 
morals  appeared  so  increasingly  impracticable  that 
the  school  patrons  of  one  Dutch  church  denomina- 
tion took  matters  into  their  own  hands. 

The  movement  for  Christian  schools  emanated 
from  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan,  about  twenty-five 
years  ago ;  but  not  until  the  year  1903  did  the  move- 
ment strongly  affect  the  Hollanders  in  Iowa.  Its 
champions  asserted  that  there  was  no  real  and  com- 
plete education  without  God's  Word,  that  a  public 
school  could  not  properly  accommodate  people  of  all 
shades  of  belief  and  unbelief,  and  that  the  public 
school  wholly  ignored  the  child's  fundamental  need 
of  training  in  religion.  They  declared  that  attend- 
ance at  Sunday-school,  Bible  reading  at  home,  and 
mere  mental  discipline  did  not  sufficiently  train  the 
child.  By  "Christian  education"  they  meant  not 
only  instruction  in  the  Dutch  language,  not  only 
reading  from  the  Bible  and  repeating  the  Lord's 
Prayer  as  so  many  public  schools  in  Iowa  permitted, 
but  instruction  that  ' '  reached  the  heart  by  means  of 


CHRISTIAN  SCHOOLS  269 


the  understanding"  and  moulded  the  character  of 
good  young  citizens. 

Convinced  that  the  public  school,  however  good 
and  sound  its  instruction  might  be,  could  not  be 
other  than  entirely  neutral  in  religious  matters,  per- 
suaded that  if  they  wanted  their  children  to  have  an 
education  based  on  Christianity  and  Bible  study  they 
would  have  to  set  up  their  own  school,  many  parents, 
members  of  the  Christian  Reformed  Church,  organ- 
ized an  association  at  Orange  City  in  1904  and 
opened  a  parochial  school  which  they  now  main- 
tain at  an  annual  cost  of  $2500.  They  support  a 
principal  and  three  teachers  for  about  two  hundred 
pupils.252 

In  1905  a  similar  association  was  formed  at  Sioux 
Center  where  there  is  a  school  with  three  teachers 
for  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  pupils,  conducted 
at  an  annual  expense  of  $1700.  The  farmers  living 
five  miles  west  of  Sioux  Center  established  "The 
Hope  School"  with  one  teacher,  at  a  cost  of  $500 
annually.  In  1907  many  parents  living  in  Richland 
Township,  Mahaska  County,  east  of  Pella,  estab- 
lished a  school  at  Peoria  and  secured  one  teacher  for 
about  sixty  pupils.  These  are  the  only  Christian 
schools  among  the  Hollanders  of  Iowa,  but  the  mem- 
bers of  Christian  Reformed  Church  congregations  at 
Rock  Valley,  Boyden,  and  Hull  expect  to  have  schools 
in  readiness  by  the  autumn  of  1912;  while  church 
people  are  very  much  interested  in  the  movement 
also  at  Middelburg,  Lebanon,  Ireton,  Doon,  and  Shel- 
don—  all  towns   in   northwestern  Iowa.     Further- 


270  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

more,  the  Hollanders  have  subscribed  $3000  for  a 
school  at  Pella,  where  the  idea  was  abandoned  forty- 
five  years  ago.253 

The  morning  religious  exercises  in  these  schools 
consist  of  prayer  and  a  study  of  the  Bible  by  each 
of  the  eight  grades.  In  the  primary  grades  the  Bible 
story  is  especially  emphasized,  while  the  upper 
grades  finish  a  complete  course  of  Bible  study  in 
three  years.  The  pupils  also  receive  instruction  in 
biblical  geography  and  are  taught  Bible  truths  in 
connection  with  all  their  lessons  throughout  the  day. 
Eeports  of  these  private  schools,  like  the  reports  of 
the  public  schools,  are  sent  to  the  State  Superintend- 
ent every  year.  Graduates  are  admitted  without  en- 
trance examination  to  high  schools  and  to  the  North- 
western Classical  Academy  at  Orange  City,  an  in- 
stitution of  the  Dutch  Eeformed  Church.  Members 
of  the  Christian  Reformed  Church  have,  indeed,  been 
agitating  the  matter  of  establishing  an  academy  of 
their  own,  and  are  already  weighing  the  claims  of 
Sioux  Center,  Rock  Valley,  Sheldon,  and  Hull.  To 
obviate  the  necessity  of  erecting  another  academy  in 
Sioux  County,  a  ''Union  Northwestern  Classical 
Academy"  has  been  suggested  to  accommodate  the 
young  people  of  both  church  congregations.254 


XXXIII 

PUBLIC  AND  HIGH  SCHOOLS 

As  a  rule  the  children  of  Dutch  immigrants  until  fif- 
teen or  twenty  years  ago  obtained  little  more  than 
the  essentials  of  reading,  writing,  and  arithmetic. 
The  Hollanders  of  Lake  Prairie  Township  showed 
comparatively  little  interest  in  common  school  edu- 
cation. Their  rural  schools  numbered  only  eight  in 
the  years  1861  and  1865 ;  while  Knoxville  Township, 
inhabited  by  Americans,  had  sixteen.  Two  hundred 
more  children  attended  the  district  schools  of  Knox- 
ville Township,  and  the  Americans  also  had  a  much 
larger  average  number  of  pupils  in  attendance. 
What  was  true  of  the  two  townships  applied  with 
equal  force  to  the  towns  of  Pella  and  Knoxville. 
Such  statistics  are  all  the  more  uncomplimentary  to 
the  Hollanders,  because  the  population  of  their  town 
and  township,  and  especially  the  number  of  their 
children,  was  considerably  larger  than  that  of  the 
township  dominated  by  their  American  neighbors.251 
Little  more  can  be  said  of  the  place  of  primary 
education  among  the  Hollanders  of  Iowa  since  1867 
than  that  the  public  school  system  of  the  State  has 
laid  the  foundation  for  good  citizenship  and  the  ordi- 
nary occupations  of  life.  It  has  furnished  the  mass 
of  Hollanders  with  the  elements  of  education  and  has 

271 


272  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 


offered  the  advantages  of  instruction  and  training 
to  the  poorest  children  in  country  and  town. 
Whether  the  Dutch  immigrant  parents  have  always 
fully  availed  themselves  of  such  opportunities  for 
their  children  it  is  difficult  to  state.  In  Holland, 
where  it  has  been  claimed  that  every  adult  can  read 
and  write,  people  who  later  emigrated  to  Iowa  have 
at  least  learned  the  rudiments.  But  in  the  struggle 
for  existence  and  wealth  in  Iowa  very  many  Hol- 
landers have  lost  sight  of  cultural  pursuits.  By 
force  of  circumstances  some  have  weaned  their  chil- 
dren from  school  at  an  early  age,  while  others  have 
been  easily  satisfied  to  see  their  children  finish  the 
grammar  school,  or  at  best  the  high  school.  It  is 
indeed  doubtful  whether  one  child  out  of  twenty-six 
has  continued  in  school  beyond  the  eighth  grade  — 
a  statement  which  does  not  flatter  the  Hollanders  in 
America  as  a  people  thirsting  for  education. 

In  agricultural  communities  such  as  Marion  and 
Sioux  counties  where  wealth  has  had  such  powerful 
attractions,  where  work  of  all  kinds  was  so  plentiful 
and  hands  were  so  few,  Dutch  farmers,  business  men 
of  moderate  means,  and  day  laborers  with  large 
families  could  not  afford  to  sacrifice  time  and  money 
to  give  their  children  a  thorough  education.  Seeing 
no  financial  profit  in  years  spent  at  school  or  college 
("it  doesn't  pay")  very  many  preferred  to  see  their 
children  begin  work  early  in  life,  help  support  the 
family,  and  learn  to  become  self-dependent. 

And  yet,  although  most  youths  in  the  early  days 
of  Pella  and  Sioux  County  acquired  little  more  than 


PUBLIC  AND  HIGH  SCHOOLS  273 


the  rudiments  of  an  education  in  their  town  and 
rural  schools,  not  a  few  young  men  went  on  to  col- 
lege. Indeed,  there  has  never  been  lacking  among 
the  Hollanders  a  genuine  interest  in  secondary  edu- 
cation. So  keen  was  their  enthusiasm  that  Pella 
has  long  boasted  of  her  college  and  Orange  City  lias 
prided  herself  on  a  fine  academy.  High  schools  in 
the  towns  where  the  Dutch  preponderate  are  of  later 
date. 

The  number  of  grammar-room  pupils  who  went 
on  into  the  upper  grades  remained  so  small  for 
many  years  that  no  pressing  need  existed  for  the 
organization  of  thorough  high  school  courses.  At 
Pella  advanced  work  was  for  a  long  time  well  taken 
care  of  by  the  Central  University  academy  which  not 
only  children  of  Dutch  parentage  at  Pella,  but  fre- 
quently also  boys  and  girls  from  rural  and  graded 
schools  in  the  vicinity,  have  attended.  In  recent 
years,  also,  many  of  the  farmers  in  Dutch  communi- 
ties living  near  town  have  sent  their  children  to 
high  schools.  The  Northwestern  Classical  Academy 
has  provided  instruction  to  many  young  people  in 
Orange  City,  to  those  who  came  from  farms  near  by, 
and  to  many  who  came  from  communities  of  Hol- 
landers in  Sioux  County  and  neighboring  States. 

High  school  and  academy  graduates  of  Dutch  ex- 
traction previous  to  1900  were  not  numerous  in  pro- 
portion to  the  population.  The  number  of  pupils 
in  the  Orange  City  and  Pella  high  schools  was  fairly 
large,  but  only  a  small  percentage  of  them  were  des- 
tined to  complete  the  course.     Girls   outnumbered 


274  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 


boys  in  nearly  every  class  of  graduates  —  a  fact 
no  less  true  of  the  years  since  1900.  Many  young 
women  of  Dutch  parentage  have  thus  been  enabled 
to  begin  careers  as  teachers  in  rural  schools  among 
the  Hollanders  of  Marion,  Sioux,  and  other  counties, 
and  a  few  are  to  be  found  teaching  in  the  grades  of 
town  schools.  Just  as  in  other  communities,  boys 
dropped  out  of  school  before  their  sisters  because 
there  was  work  for  them  at  home,  in  the  office,  or  in 
the  shop. 

Pella  high  school  and  academy  graduates  have 
obtained  their  higher  education  largely  in  Central 
University,  but  a  few  have  gone  to  Hope  College,  a 
Dutch  Reformed  institution  at  Holland,  Michigan. 
With  the  opportunity  of  securing  a  college  education 
at  home  it  is  not  surprising  that  young  men  did  not 
turn  to  colleges  elsewhere,  except  for  graduate  and 
professional  courses,  in  which  case  many  have  at- 
tended the  State  University  of  Iowa:  one  of  these 
was  John  Scholte  Nollen,  president  of  the  Alumni 
Association  in  1911,  and  head  of  Lake  Forest  Col- 
lege. 

Although  the  graduates  of  the  Northwestern 
Classical  Academy  and  of  high  schools  of  Dutch 
towns  in  Sioux  County  have  always  attended  Hope 
College,  since  1900  many  graduates  have  chosen  to 
go  elsewhere.  Grinnell  College  and  the  Agricultural 
College  at  Ames  have  had  their  attractions,  but  the 
current  has  set  in  especially  strong  toward  the  State 
University  of  Iowa.  During  the  past  decade  the  lat- 
ter institution  has  had  a  large  representation  from 


PUBLIC  AND  HIGH  SCHOOLS  275 

the  Dutch  community  in  Sioux  County,  particularly 
from  the  towns  of  Orange  City  and  Sioux  ('cuter. 
In  1912  this  county,  nearly  three  hundred  miles  from 
Iowa  City,  sent  thirty-live  students.  Only  live  coun- 
ties in  the  State  made  a  better  showing.  Orange 
City  with  its  population  of  about  1500  had  more  stu- 
dents enrolled  at  the  University  than  any  other  town 
of  equal  size:  it  boasted  of  seventeen.  Des  Moines 
had  but  twice  as  many;  and  only  eight  cities  in  all 
Iowa  ranked  higher.  Such  facts  indicate  not  merely 
that  the  Hollanders  of  Iowa  have  begun  to  take  more 
interest  in  education,  but  also  that  they  have  con- 
fidence in  their  university. 


XXXIV 

CENTEAL  UNIVERSITY  OF  IOWA 

About  four  and  a  half  years  after  the  Hollanders 
founded  their  community  in  Marion  County,  on  one 
of  the  coldest  days  of  the  season,  the  people  of 
Pella,  both  Dutch  and  Americans,  assembled  in  a 
house  on  Garden  Square.  All  were  buoyant  with 
hope  because  an  opportunity  had  been  presented  for 
securing  within  their  midst  ''that  which  in  its  moral, 
literary  and  religious  bearing  upon  the  community 
would  be  more  important  than  county  or  government 
seats." 

The  Baptists  of  Iowa  having  decided  to  establish 
a  college  where  they  could  depend  upon  the  most 
liberal  donations  of  land  and  money,  there  ensued 
an  enthusiastic  campaign  to  collect  money  from  the 
citizens  of  Pella  and  vicinity.  Many  Hollanders, 
like  Scholte  and  A.  E.  D.  Bousquet,  deemed  higher 
education  an  absolute  necessity;  and  even  though 
Baptists  were  the  chief  promoters  of  the  plan, 
wealthy  members  of  the  Dutch  church  did  not  hesi- 
tate to  subscribe  large  sums  of  money.  Scholte 
himself  offered  eight  acres  of  land  for  a  college 
campus.256 

In  June,  1853,  the  citizens  of  Pella  rejoiced  when 
they  learned  that  the  Baptists  had  resolved  to  ac- 

276 


CENTRAL  UNIVERSITY  OF  IOWA  277 

cept  Pella's  offer.  That  the  Central  University  of 
Iowa  found  a  home  among  the  Hollanders  was  large- 
ly due  to  the  influence  of  Scholte,  who  showed  in  this 
way  how  little  he  cared  "  about  differences  of  opinion 
regarding  the  less  important  points  of  religious 
worship".  Graduated  from  the  renowned  Univer- 
sity of  Leyden  and  himself  a  man  of  learning,  he  at 
once  approved  the  plan  of  providing  higher  educa- 
tion for  the  youth  of  his  community.  The  Puritans 
of  New  England  waited  longer  for  Harvard  College 
than  the  Hollanders  of  Pella  did  for  Central  Col- 
lege. Scholte  cooperated  with  the  Baptists  at  every 
step,  gave  generously  of  his  wealth,  and  at  all  times 
had  the  interests  of  the  college  at  heart.  He  dreamed 
of  a  university  which  would  one  day  by  reason  of  its 
central  location  attract  many  hundreds  of  young 
people  to  its  departments  of  law,  medicine,  theology, 
and  liberal  arts.257 

Among  the  first  trustees  of  Central  University 
were  two  Hollanders :  J.  Smeenk  and  H.  P.  Scholte. 
The  latter  was  president  of  the  board  in  1855  when 
proposals  were  asked  for  a  three-story  brick  build- 
ing with  stone  trimmings.  For  a  few  years  before 
June,  1858,  there  existed  only  an  academic  or  pre- 
paratory department.  Many  Hollanders  failed  to 
appreciate  the  benefits  which  this  academy  conferred 
upon  the  people  of  Pella.  Although  the  institution 
had  been  "scrupulously  kept  free  from  all  sectarian 
influences",  it  had  not  received  the  cordial  support 
of  the  members  of  all  religious  denominations  at 
Pella.     Some  Hollanders  were  too  strongly  tinged 


278  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

with  sectarianism  to  overlook  the  Baptist  origin  of 
the  college,  but  others  declared  it  an  excellent  priv- 
ilege to  be  able  to  acquire  a  liberal  education  at 
home  in  the  midst  of  Christian  surroundings  even 
though  their  own  theology  could  not  be  taught.258 

Among  the  first  three  students  to  graduate  from 
Central  University,  shortly  after  the  Civil  War  broke 
out,  was  Herman  F.  Bousquet,  a  foreign-born  Hol- 
lander. When  the  College  again  opened  its  doors 
in  the  autumn  of  1861,  not  a  single  able-bodied  young 
man  enrolled,  for  all  had  enlisted  in  the  Iowa  regi- 
ments. Enthusiastic  graduates  refer  with  pardon- 
able pride  to  the  fact  that  Central  University  "gave 
not  only  a  larger  proportion  of  her  young  men  to  the 
service  than  did  any  other  school  in  the  United 
States,  but  she  gave  all  that  she  possessed",  one 
hundred  and  twenty-two.259 

Van  Raalte's  hopes  of  being  able  to  found  at 
Pella  a  college  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  as 
he  had  established  Hope  College  at  Holland,  Michi- 
gan, miscarried  in  the  year  1865,  because  the  un- 
usually fine  standard  of  both  higher  and  lower  edu- 
cation at  Pella  made  an  additional  school  in  such  a 
country  town  at  once  unnecessary  and  superfluous. 
Thus  Central  University  has  held  the  field  alone 
(though  not  a  few  young  Hollanders  from  Pella  have 
attended  Hope  College) ,  and  like  so  many  other  small 
colleges  of  Iowa  has  passed  through  many  trials 
during  the  past  half  century.  It  has  always  main- 
tained a  high  standard  of  instruction,  has  steadily 
raised  its  endowment,  and  claims  about  two  hundred 


CENTRAL  UNIVERSITY  OF  IOWA  27!" 

and  fifty  students  divided  among  the  academy,  the 
college,  and  the  departments  of  music  and  oratory.260 
Central  University  has  never  lacked  warm  friends 
among  the  Hollanders  who  comprised  a  majority  of 
the  people  of  Pella.  Besides  Scholte  and  A.  E.  I). 
Bousquet,  Auke  H.  Viersen  also  faithfully  served  the 
college.  In  1911  one-fourth  of  the  college  trustees 
were  Hollanders ;  while  among  the  names  of  past 
instructors  appear  those  of  Lillian  Viersen,  John 
Nollen,  Henry  Nollen,  and  Herman  Neyenesch.  It 
can  not  be  denied,  however,  that  the  founding  of  Cen- 
tral University  at  Pella  was  not  sufficiently  prized 
by  the  Hollanders  for  many  years.  While  young 
people  of  Dutch  parentage  have  always  enrolled  at 
the  college,  the  number  in  attendance  until  about 
twenty  years  ago  was  almost  negligible.  But  in  the 
last  two  decades  the  Hollanders  have  been  good  pa- 
trons, and  in  1911  they  claimed  nearly  one-third  of 
the  students  in  the  college,  more  than  half  in  the 
summer  school,  not  quite  one-half  in  the  academy, 
two-thirds  in  the  elocution  department,  and  more 
than  one-third  of  the  students  in  the  school  of  music. 
This  is  an  admirable  showing  and  indicates  that  as 
wealth  increases  among  the  Hollanders  of  Pella  and 
vicinity  more  young  people  will  acquire  the  culture 
of  college  halls.261 


XXXV 

NORTHWESTERN  CLASSICAL  ACADEMY 

Of  the  first  two  buildings  around  which  the  town  of 
Orange  City  grew  up,  one  was  the  little  district 
schoolhouse.  Within  five  years  there  were  seven- 
teen rural  schools  scattered  throughout  the  new  set- 
tlement in  Sioux  County.  But  it  is  especially  worthy 
of  note  that  prominent  among  the  ideals  of  the  Hol- 
landers was  the  encouragement  of  higher  education. 
Henry  Hospers  and  other  shareholders  in  the  town 
site  had  from  the  beginning  agreed  to  lay  aside  one- 
fifth  of  the  proceeds  from  the  sale  of  lots  as  a  col- 
lege fund.  To  set  the  academy  or  university  upon 
its  feet  there  were  in  1875  advocates  of  a  plan  to 
buy  a  section  of  land,  let  the  soil  to  tenants  for  cul- 
tivation, and  apply  the  income  to  the  payment  of 
instructors.  But  other  counsellors  prevailed,  sug- 
gesting that  the  plan  be  dropped  until  the  country 
became  entirely  rid  of  the  grasshopper  plague. 

Dr.  A.  F.  H.  de  Lespinasse,  a  graduate  of  Utrecht 
University,  announced  that  he  would  open  a  medical 
school  to  young  men  of  at  least  nineteen  years  of  age, 
for  a  course  of  one  and  a  half  years  devoted  to  pre- 
paratory knowledge,  theory,  and  practice.  This 
school  was  ambitiously  proposed  as  a  part  of  a  uni- 
versity which  should  later  include  faculties  of  law 

280 


NORTHWESTERN  CLASSICAL  ACADEMY     281 

and  theology.  Orange  City  was  suggested  as  the 
proper  home  for  such  an  institution  on  account  of  its 
Dutch  population,  its  healthful  situation,  and  the 
cheapness  of  living.  Seven  young  men  presented 
themselves  as  students  in  the  month  of  February, 
1875,  and  they  were  told  that  studies  would  begin  as 
soon  as  the  new  county  courthouse  was  completed. 
In  September  and  October  of  that  year  they  were 
worrying  over  examinations.  The  school,  however, 
was  short-lived.262 

Summoned  from  the  Hollanders  in  Michigan  to 
serve  the  infant  church  congregations  in  Sioux 
County,  Rev.  Seine  Bolks  was  familiar  with  the 
pioneer  educational  accomplishments  of  van  Baalte 
in  Michigan.  Indeed,  he  had  helped  other  ministers 
to  bring  order  out  of  chaos  by  establishing  the  first 
schools  in  that  forest  wilderness.  He  had  been  a 
witness  of  the  founding,  by  van  Raalte,  of  Holland 
Academy  in  1857  and  of  Hope  College  in  18fi(!.  With 
these  thriving  institutions  in  mind  he  perceived  that 
Orange  City,  too,  had  room  for  an  institution  of 
higher  learning.  For  many  years  he  counselled  and 
encouraged  the  members  of  his  flock  to  make  some 
provision:  his  hopes,  however,  were  blasted  by  years 
of  distress  and  adversity.  ''Grasshoppers",  he 
naively  remarked,  "flew  away  with  the  idea." 

In  the  autumn  of  1882,  twelve  years  after  the 
Hollanders  came  to  Sioux  County,  and  after  the 
settlers  had  recovered  from  the  suffering  caused  by 
the  locusts,  such  lively  interest  was  manifested  that 
many  Dutch  Reformed  ministers  and  a  few  busi- 


282  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

ness  men  met  at  Orange  City  and  decided  to  found 
a  church  school,  to  be  known  as  the  Northwestern 
Classical  Academy.  They  believed  that  in  the  ab- 
sence of  high  schools  at  both  Orange  City  and  Al- 
ton such  an  institution  was  destined  to  supply  a 
great  need,  if  a  site  for  the  building  were  selected 
at  some  point  midway  between  the  two  towns.  But 
when  Henry  Hospers  came  forward  to  donate  several 
acres  of  land  upon  the  southern  outskirts  of  Orange 
City,  the  county  seat  was  selected  as  the  permanent 
home  for  the  proposed  academy.204 

Plans  were  at  once  formulated,  money  was  sub- 
scribed by  all  who  were  well  disposed,  and  a  board 
of  trustees  was  appointed.  In  the  autumn  of  1883 
the  principal  of  the  Orange  City  public  school,  aided 
by  the  ministers  of  neighboring  churches,  began  to 
prepare  pupils  for  admission  to  the  academy ;  and  in 
January,  1884,  Rev.  John  A.  de  Spelder  took  up  his 
duties  as  principal.  From  modest  beginnings  —  one 
teacher,  twenty-five  pupils,  and  scant  accommoda- 
tions in  one  room  of  a  small,  square  frame  building 
which  the  Hollanders  called' 'The  Pioneer  School" — 
the  academy  grew  until  it  occupied  two  rooms  and  re- 
quired two  teachers  before  the  end  of  the  first  year. 
Then  followed  such  an  increasing  enrollment  that  an 
abandoned  skating-rink  was  purchased  and  fitted  up 
for  recitation  and  dormitory  purposes  in  1886,  and 
later  the  first  building  was  remodeled  and  converted 
into  a  residence  for  the  principal. 

In  1890  Rev.  James  F.  Zwemer  was  installed  as 
principal.    Legacies  and  subscriptions  were  received, 


NORTHWESTERN  CLASSICAL  ACADEMY     28  I 

mortgages  liquidated,  and  in  1894  an  attractive 
three-story  brick  and  stone  structure  was  com- 
pleted upon  the  campus  at  a  cost  of  $25,000.  Rev. 
Matthew  Kolyn  succeeded  as  principal  in  1898,  M  r. 
Philip  Soulen  in  1901,  Rev.  John  F.  Heemstra  in 
1906,  and  Mr.  Thomas  E.  Welmers  in  1910.  During 
their  administrations  the  academy  has  been  nursed 
through  many  financial  troubles ;  but  in  1911  it  stood 
upon  a  solid  footing,  free  from  debt.  Since  its  foun- 
dation it  has  been  served  by  nearly  forty  teachers  — 
all  Hollanders,  members  of  the  Dutch  Reformed 
Church,  and  mostly  graduates  of  Hope  College. 

The  Northwestern  Classical  Academy  was  not 
intended  as  a  mere  high  school.  The  chief  aim  of  its 
founders  was  to  lay  a  thorough  foundation  for  a 
liberal  education  and  to  fit  young  men  for  entrance 
into  college,  especially  Hope  College,  also  an  insti- 
tution of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church.  In  1911  the 
academy  furnished  sound  instruction  in  three 
courses:  the  classical,  the  modern  classical,  and 
the  normal,  which  has  recently  been  added  to 
prepare  young  people  for  teaching,  especially  in 
rural  schools.  Greek  and  Latin,  mathematics  and 
science,  history  and  English,  vocal  music,  German, 
and  Dutch  are  the  subjects  taught.  The  retention 
of  Dutch  as  a  part  of  the  curriculum  was  explained 
as  follows : 

The  study  of  the  Dutch  language  is  a  characteristic 
feature  of  this  institution.  And  it  is  altogether  fitting  that 
it  should  be  so,  considering  that  many  of  our  students  come 


284  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

from  Dutch  homes,  that  the  language  will  doubtless  yet 
long  be  used  in  a  section  of  the  church  which  this  institu- 
tion is  especially  designed  to  serve,  and  that  no  one,  who 
counts  the  Dutch  his  mother  tongue,  should,  while  seeking 
the  advantages  of  a  higher  education,  fail  to  have  or  seek 
an  interest  in  the  extensive  and  rich  literature  of  this  peo- 
ple. .  .  .  The  work  is  made  optional;  one  semester  is 
devoted  to  it,  during  which  the  principal  points  of  granunar 
and  syntax  are  carefully  studied  in  connection  with  selec- 
tions from  standard  authors. 

The  founders  of  the  academy  desired  not  merely 
to  serve  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  the  school 
in  Sioux  County :  they  had  in  mind  all  localities  to 
which  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  was  spreading, 
and  although  most  of  the  pupils  have  come  from 
Orange  City,  Alton,  Sioux  Center,  Maurice,  Hospers, 
Rock  Valley,  and  Boyden  in  Sioux  County,  not  a  few 
have  come  from  Dutch  Reformed  congregations  else- 
where, as  in  Kansas,  South  Dakota,  Wisconsin,  and 
other  States. 

The  need  of  higher  education  on  a  Christian  basis 
in  harmony  with  the  tenets  of  Calvinism  was  an  im- 
portant factor  in  the  organization  of  this  academy, 
and  so  the  curriculum  has  always  included  Bible 
study.     The  reason  has  been  stated  as  follows: 

The  systematic  study  of  the  Bible  finds  a  place  in  our 
curriculum.  "We  believe  it  to  be  essential.  We  hold  that 
God  is  the  fountain  of  all  knowledge  and  that  the  principles 
of  revealed  truth  are  basic  to  all  true  intellectual  develop- 
ment and  every  branch  of  learning. 

During  the  first  three  years  one  hour  a  week  throughout 
the  year  is  devoted  to  this  study.     Taking  for  granted  that 


NORTHWESTERN  CLASSICAL  ACAD  KM  Y     285 

the  student  is  tolerably  familiar  with  Sacred  History,  we 
aim  rather  to  point  out  the  system  of  truth  embodied  in  this 
history  and  trace  the  great  principles  which  are  to  be  found 
in  God's  Revelation  from  cover  to  cover.  The  Reformed 
Church  is  distinctly  a  truth  confessing  church. 

The  Heidelberg  Catechism  is  used  as  a  guide  during  the 
first  two  years,  while  Sell's  Notes  form  a  course  for  the 
third  year. 

In  the  absence  of  a  more  substantial  foundation, 
such  as  a  large  endowment  fund,  the  academy  lias 
been  dependent  upon  the  annual  contributions  of  its 
friends  and  upon  assistance  from  the  Board  of  Edu- 
cation of  the  Reformed  Church.  Although  it  is  a 
sectarian  or  denominational  institution,  founded, 
superintended,  and  maintained  by  members  of  the 
Dutch  Reformed  Church  in  America,  those  who  seek 
admission  need  only  possess  "good  moral  character 
and  studious  inclinations",  and  many  a  poor  boy  or 
girl  desirous  of  an  education  has  been  aided  by  the 
academy's  Board  of  Benevolence  and  the  Women's 
Executive  Committee.  All  pupils  are  required  to 
attend  morning  chapel  services  and  recitations,  and 
are  expected  to  be  in  faithful  attendance  at  some 
place  of  public  worship.  "Dancing,  card-playing, 
and  the  use  of  tobacco  on  the  campus  is  forbidden." 

The  board  of  trustees  has  always  been  composed 
largely  of  ministers  of  Dutch  Reformed  congrega- 
tions in  the  neighborhood.  These  gentlemen  have 
been  no  small  factor  in  developing  the  school,  and  to 
no  small  degree  have  they  been  responsible  for  a 
record  in  which  hundreds  of  Hollanders  in  Sioux 


286  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

County  and  elsewhere  have  taken  unconcealed  pride. 
While  the  number  of  students  has  never  been  large, 
ranging  from  sixty  to  seventy-five,  under  the  tute- 
lage of  four  or  five  teachers,  the  academy  has  main- 
tained itself  in  the  face  of  many  competing  high 
schools. 

Graduates  of  the  academy  in  their  loyalty  and 
enthusiasm  point  to  the  past  record  of  the  school  as 
a  heritage  which  speaks  volumes  when  mere  words 
fail.  Since  the  first  class  of  three  left  "  N.  W.  C.  A. " 
in  1885,  the  graduates  have  come  to  number  about 
two  hundred  and  sixty.  Nearly  three-fourths  of 
these  have  pursued  a  college  course  in  whole  or  in 
part.  They  have  yielded  seventeen  physicians,  ten 
lawyers,  more  than  sixty  teachers,  and  almost 
seventy  clergymen  and  missionaries,  most  of  whom 
received  their  training  at  Hope  College  and  Western 
Theological  Seminary  at  Holland,  Michigan.  And 
the  names  of  these  young  men  and  women  graduates 
indicate  that  all,  with  perhaps  two  or  three  excep- 
tions, were  Hollanders.265 


XXXVI 

EARLY  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  AMONG  THE  HOL- 
LANDERS IN  IOWA 

The  dictum  of  William  of  Orange  that  ''conscience 
is  God's  province"  was  entirely  ignored  in  1815  when 
Holland,  as  well  as  the  rest  of  Europe,  under- 
went almost  complete  reconstruction.  Napoleon  had 
preached  the  separation  of  church  and  state,  and 
when  he  took  possession  of  Holland  he  sent  the  Dutch 
Church  about  its  business.  Then  Holland  fell  into 
the  hands  of  William  I  who  easily  prevailed  upon  the 
declining  Reformed  Church  to  return  to  dependence 
upon  the  state  exchequer  at  the  price  of  a  modified 
constitution.  King  William  resolved  to  make  all 
members  of  the  established  church  conform  to  his 
ideas  of  the  new  church  polity,  but  after  some  years 
of  persecution  he  conferred  upon  conservative 
churchmen,  who  adhered  to  the  orthodox  doctrines 
of  Calvinism,  the  privilege  of  maintaining  their  own 
congregations.  These  Seceders  were  so  generally 
despised  by  the  masses  of  the  people  of  Holland  and 
hundreds  came  to  such  a  state  of  poverty  that  many 
were  led  by  their  pastors  to  forsake  the  fatherland 
and  seek  full  liberty  of  conscience  and  freedom  of 
worship  in  the  solitudes  of  Michigan  and  Iowa. 
The  spirit  exhibited  by  these  people  in  twelve 

287 


288  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

years  of  religious  strife  in  Holland  was  transplanted 
to  the  prairie  farms  of  Marion  County,  Iowa.  Eight 
months  after  landing  in  America,  Scholte,  their  pas- 
tor-leader, pictured  the  spiritual  state  of  his  fellow- 
countrymen  at  Pella  as  follows : 268 

Ever  since  our  coming  regular  Sunday  services  have 
been  held,  first  partly  in  the  open  air  on  account  of  the  lack 
of  sufficiently  roomy  houses.  Later  when  G.  H.  Overkamp 
finished  his  house  in  the  city,  he  kindly  allowed  it  to  be 
used  for  Sunday  meetings,  which  were  generally  very  well 
attended.  .  .  .  Besides,  the  people  gather  during  the 
week  to  practice  reading  and  interpreting  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures. The  building  which  is  to  serve  as  a  school-room  and 
also  as  a  house  of  worship  is  fifty  feet  long  and  half  as 
broad,  and  will  be  finished  soon.     .     .     . 

One  may  converse  with  many  on  religious  subjects; 
and  although  our  people  were  adherents  of  different  sects 
in  Holland,  they  are  all  Christians  and  thus  far  form  but 
one  congregation.  The  preaching  of  the  Word  is  listened 
to  attentively,  and  although  a  difference  of  opinion  exists 
it  is  not  productive  of  strife ;  sometimes  differences  are  de- 
bated but  without  resulting  in  hostility  or  bitterness. 

The  immigrants  at  once  organized  a  congrega- 
tion with  five  elders  and  three  deacons,  became  in- 
corporated under  the  laws  of  Iowa  as  an  independent 
religious  society  by  the  name  of  "The  Christian 
Church  at  Pella",  adopted  a  constitution  on  the 
13th  of  November,  1848,  and  declared  that  their 
church  was  "founded  upon  the  one,  entire  and  in- 
divisible Word  of  God  as  revealed  in  the  Scripture 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments."  In  conformity 
with  the  Bible  they  recognized  the  doctrines  and  con- 


EARLY  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  HOLLANDERS  289 

fession  of  faith  of  the  orthodox  Protestant  churches 
as  the  true  standard  of  belief,  and  were  prepared  to 
join  in  Christian  fellowship  with  every  congregation 
which  confessed  the  same  faith  in  God  the  Father, 
the  Son,  and  the  Holy  Ghost.  They  also  provided 
that  every  person  who  confessed  his  belief  in  the 
Trinity  and  whose  conduct  was  consistent  with  his 
belief  would  be  received  into  the  church.  Accord- 
ingly, candidates  for  membership  in  the  church  were 
required  to  be  rich  in  Christian  knowledge:  many 
were  denied  admission  because  they  lacked  the  neces- 
sary experience  in  Christian  life.267 

To  the  superficial  observer  it  seemed  as  if  re- 
ligious life  flourished  at  Pella  in  the  early  months, 
but  in  writing  of  all  that  God  had  done  for  them, 
Scholte  concluded:  "If  we  are  asked  what  we  are 
doing  for  God,  shame  and  humiliation  surge  within 
us;  for  though  we  ought  to  shine  as  lights  in  the 
world,  if  we  were  to  go  to  meet  God,  some  of  us 
would  surely  have  to  say  that  our  lamps  are  going 
out. ' '  Scholte  was  compelled  to  admit  that  as  to  the 
spiritual  condition  of  his  people  he  had  no  special 
boast  to  make:  "To  be  frank  in  what  I  write,  I 
must  confess  that  religion  does  not  flourish,  because 
there  is  no  evidence  that  God's  Kingdom  and  right- 
eousness assume  a  foremost  place  in  daily  life,  but 
rather  the  things  of  this  world."  Some  were  so  af- 
fected with  self-interest  and  self-seeking  and  so  al- 
tered by  the  incidents  of  the  long  journey  from  Hol- 
land and  the  strenuous  life  of  the  new  country  that 
Scholte  believed  their  Christian  ideals  were  shat- 


290  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 


tered :  surely  not  many  glorified  God.268  ' '  The  sud- 
den change",  he  wrote,  "from  a  condition  of  op- 
pression and  anxiety  in  Holland  to  one  of  space  and 
freedom  has  caused  a  dizziness,  and  therefore  the 
American  love  of  material  things  is  more  attractive 
than  Heaven." 

Scholte  longed  heartily  for  a  revival  such  as 
Americans  were  accustomed  to,  though  his  own  peo- 
ple had  never  heard  of  evangelistic  methods  in  Hol- 
land. Many  times  he  had  been  pained  by  the  ir- 
religious conduct  of  the  rising  generation.  Not  many 
months  later,  in  November  of  1848,  he  rejoiced  to  re- 
port a  tremendous  reformation.  Suddenly  inspired 
by  the  Christ-like  example  of  a  poor  and  ignorant 
servant  girl,  scores  of  young  people  as  well  as  adults 
were  turned  from  the  path  of  evil.  This  experience 
resulted  in  a  spiritual  awakening  in  the  hearts  of  all 
members  of  the  congregation,  and  Scholte  asserted : 
"Now  Pella  has  become  doubly  dear  to  me,  because 
the  Lord  has  shown  that  he  wishes  to  dwell  in  our 
midst,  and  I  must  not  conceal  from  my  former  fel- 
low-countrymen the  great  things  that  God  has  done 
and  is  doing  for  us."  269 

During  the  early  years  Scholte  preached  on  Sun- 
day afternoons,  while  Rev.  A.  J.  Betten  or  the  el- 
ders took  charge  of  morning  services.  Children  of 
the  congregation  were  not  allowed  to  miss  instruc- 
tion in  the  Heidelberg  catechism:  they  were  faith- 
fully taught  by  Isaac  Overkamp  for  many  years.  A 
fresh  infusion  of  religious  life  came  when  Pella  wel- 
comed the  immigrants  of  1849,  of  whom  such  men  as 


EARLY  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  HOLLANDERS  291 

II.  van  Houten,  John  Hospers,  A.  E.  D.  Bousquet, 
Jacob  Maasdam,  and  A.  C.  Kuyper  became  leaders  in 
the  church.  The  first  regular  Sunday-school  at  Pel- 
la,  established  and  superintended  by  A.  E.  D.  Bous- 
quet, was  held  for  many  years  in  an  old  log  house  on 
Garden  Square.270 

In  1851  the  Christian  Church  split  into  two  con- 
gregations, which,  however,  reunited  later.  About 
the  same  time  occurred  the  fatal  breach  between  the 
pastor  and  a  large  part  of  his  flock.  When  Scholte 
laid  out  the  town  of  Pella  in  1848  he  made  a  map 
which  showed  that  he  intended  Garden  Square  to  be 
used  as  a  public  garden  around  which  he  expected 
citizens  to  purchase  lots  for  homes,  and  that  he  re- 
served one-fourth  of  a  block  west  of  Garden  Square 
for  future  church  and  school  purposes.  Scholte 's 
intentions  as  thus  indicated  caused  places  of  business 
to  become  scattered  about  town  until  Americans  be- 
gan to  arrive  in  Pella.  With  true  Yankee  foresight 
they  bought  lots  facing  Garden  Square  and  set  up 
their  shops.  Scholte,  "who  was  easily  won  over  to 
the  side  of  what  was  genuinely  American,  quickly 
noticed  that  what  he  had  set  aside  to  be  a  place  for 
quiet  and  rest  was  becoming  the  center  of  business 
and  industry,  and  therefore  not  a  desirable  neigh- 
borhood for  God's  house."  When  in  the  summer  of 
1854  he  received  a  tempting  offer  for  a  part  of 
Church  Square,  he  did  not  hesitate  to  accept  it.271 

Scholte 's  church  council  or  consistory  resented 
his  independence,  declared  that  he  had  no  right  to 
act  so  arbitrarily  without  consulting  them,  and  con- 


292  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

tended  that  by  designating  a  parcel  of  land  as 
Church  Square  he  had  granted  and  dedicated  it  to 
the  Christian  Church.  Scholte  replied  that  these 
lots  had  not  become  church  property  because  he  had 
never  made  a  deed  of  gift,  that  in  his  judgment  the 
lots  facing  Garden  Square  had  become  more  suitable 
for  stores  than  for  a  church,  and  accordingly  he  pro- 
posed to  donate  to  the  church  another  site  in  a  quiet 
part  of  town.  Upon  his  refusal  to  restore  the  land, 
Scholte  was  suspended  and  forbidden  to  preach  until 
he  surrendered.  Indeed,  the  Christian  Church  at 
Pella  brought  the  matter  into  court  and  even  ap- 
pealed to  the  State  Supreme  Court,  but  Scholte 's 
view  prevailed.272 

Despite  this  friction,  members  of  the  congrega- 
tion were  not  unanimous  in  their  opposition  to 
Scholte.  Many  followed  him  out  of  the  church  and 
for  a  time  heard  him  preach  in  a  barn  and  later  in  a 
painter's  shop.  Then  Scholte  built  for  himself  and 
his  people  a  meeting-house  with  low,  sharp-pointed 
steeple,  and  above  its  entrance  inscribed  these 
words  in  large  black  letters :  ' '  MDCCCLV.  In  Deo 
Spes  Nostra  et  Refugium."  The  Second  Christian 
Church  congregation  flourished  independently  until 
about  one  year  after  the  death  of  Scholte  in  1868. 
He  usually  preached  on  Sunday  afternoons,  while 
capable  men  took  charge  in  the  morning.  For  some 
years  there  were  no  elders  and  deacons,  but  the  men 
of  the  church  transacted  church  business  at  weekly 
meetings.  Men  were  specially  appointed  to  teach 
the    children    the    catechism.     But    the    fact    that 


EARLY  RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  HOLLANDERS  293 

Scholte's  influence  at  Pella  was  severely  shaken  by 
the  fatal  breach  is  apparent  from  the  following: 273 

Being  the  only  one  among  the  colonists  who  was  famil- 
iar with  the  language,  laws  and  customs,  he  had  to  enter 
into  all  the  material  concerns  of  the  colony.  Thus  he  was 
gentleman  farmer,  owner  of  saw-mills,  brick-kilns  and  lime- 
kilns, land-agent,  notary,  printer,  broker,  banker,  dealer  in 
farm  implements,  attorney,  editor,  owner  and  publisher  of 
a  weekly,  and  so  on.  This  combination  of  manifold  duties 
led  to  his  loss  of  spiritual  power.  No  less  hurtful  was  his 
active  share  in  politics  which  brought  him  into  clashes  with 
a  numerous  class  of  men  who  make  politics  their  business. 


XXXVII 

THE  DUTCH  REFORMED  CHURCH  IN  IOWA 

On  his  way  to  the  American  West  in  1847  Scholte 
met  many  clergymen  of  the  old  American  Dutch  Re- 
formed Church  at  New  York.  In  answer  to  their 
urgent  appeals  to  ally  himself  with  their  synod  he 
said  that  he  had  no  inclination  to  do  so.  It  was  his 
impatience  with  human  regulations  in  church  life,  his 
spirit  of  independence  which  compelled  him  to  turn 
a  deaf  ear  to  their  proposals.  In  fact,  he  could  not 
be  said  to  belong  to  any  sect.  "Boldly  and  cheer- 
fully", as  he  expressed  it,  "do  I  profess  that  God's 
Word  is  my  only  regulation  in  the  affairs  of  God's 
church  on  earth. ' ' 

Between  him  and  his  fellow-Separatists  in  Hol- 
land there  had  once  arisen  a  difference  of  opinion  as 
to  the  application  of  the  church  regulations  pre- 
scribed by  the  Synod  of  Dordrecht,  the  administra- 
tion of  sacraments  to  the  unconverted,  the  baptism 
of  children,  the  return  of  Christ,  and  other  subjects, 
which  led  to  so  much  friction  that  at  a  general  synod 
of  the  Separatist  congregations  in  1840  Scholte  was 
forbidden  to  preach  the  gospel.  It  is  not  surprising, 
therefore,  that  he  did  not  hurry  to  the  fold  of  the 
Dutch  Reformed  Church  or  any  other  church  in 
America,  though  van  Raalte  and  his  Michigan  people 
were  welcomed  as  early  as  1850.274 

294 


DUTCH  REFORMED  CHURCH  IN  IOWA      295 

The  First  Christian  Church  at  Pella  emerged 
from  the  quarrel  with  Scholte  and  for  a  short  time  its 
members  worshipped  God  without  a  pastor,  until 
they  elected  one  of  their  number,  Rev.  A.  J.  Betten, 
to  fill  the  vacancy  in  1855.  The  congregation  had 
always  observed  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
every  Sunday.  This  was  an  innovation  which  cer- 
tain brethren  felt  was  not  in  keeping  with  the  doc- 
trines promulgated  by  the  Synod  of  Dordrecht  in 
1618,  and  accordingly,  as  their  number  grew  with  in- 
creasing accessions  of  Hollanders  from  Europe,  they 
formed  a  separate  independent  congregation  in  1856 
and  called  it  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church. 

They  voted  unanimously  to  effect  a  closer  rela- 
tion with  the  Michigan  churches,  and  appointed  two 
men  to  attend  a  special  convention  at  Chicago.  In 
September,  1856,  they  secured  a  visit  from  Rev.  van 
Raalte.  At  an  open  meeting  of  the  members  of  the 
Christian  Church  and  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church 
practically  all  of  the  members  voted  to  be  received 
into  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  in  America.  Thus 
nearly  two  entire  congregations  of  Hollanders  be- 
came united  under  the  name :  ' '  Protestant  Reformed 
Dutch  Church  at  Pella".  Those  who  refused  to  be 
parties  to  this  arrangement  continued  as  the  First 
Christian  Church.275 

The  Dutch  Reformed  congregation  tendered  calls 
to  Rev.  A.  C.  van  Raalte,  Rev.  A.  Brummelkamp 
(then  a  professor  in  the  theological  school  at  Kam- 
pen,  Holland),  and  Rev.  Donner  of  Leyden,  Holland, 
but  all  declined.     Finally,  in  1858  they  induced  Rev. 


296  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 


P.  J.  Oggel  of  Grand  Haven,  Michigan,  to  come  for  a 
few  weeks,  and  later,  in  1859,  Rev.  van  Raalte.  The 
first  Baptist  chnrch  organized  by  Americans  at  Pel- 
la  in  1854  had  taken  over  the  Sunday-school  founded 
by  Bousquet.  Since  this  school  was  the  only  one  at 
Pella,  and  was  attended  by  both  Hollanders  and 
Americans,  Rev.  van  Raalte  successfully  urged  the 
Dutch  Reformed  people  to  establish  a  second  Sun- 
day-school, which  Dutch  children  attended  at  eight 
o'clock  in  the  morning!  Then  in  1860  Rev.  P.  J. 
Oggel  became  the  first  permanent  pastor  of  the 
Dutch  Reformed  Church.276 

At  Pella,  just  as  in  Michigan,  there  arose  what 
has  been  termed  ''the  terrible  language  question", 
once  so  productive  of  disputes  in  congregations  of 
the  eastern  American  States.  For  many  of  the  first 
settlers,  who  had  found  no  time  or  opportunity  to 
acquaint  themselves  with  English,  preaching  in  the 
Dutch  language  remained  an  absolute  necessity ;  and 
so  it  has  always  been  in  the  case  of  Dutch  immi- 
grants who  have  come  to  Iowa.  The  children  who 
had  grown  up  at  Pella  since  1847  had  received  in- 
struction in  English,  but  had  acquired  only  a  slight 
speaking  knowledge  of  Dutch:  they  were  not  pre- 
pared to  read  Dutch  books  or  to  follow  Dutch  ser- 
mons with  profit.  Accordingly,  there  was  little  op- 
position in  1862  to  the  formation  at  Pella  of  a  second 
Dutch  Reformed  congregation  which  has  always  had 
preaching  in  the  English  language.277 

The  first  Dutch  Reformed  Church  in  Iowa  existed 
in  the  city  of  Burlington  from  1853  until  1860.     Dav- 


DUTCH  REFORMED  CHURCH  IN  IOWA      297 

enport  also  had  a  congregation  from  1859  to  1876, 
and  there  was  one  at  Keokuk  from  1863  to  1865.  Hol- 
landers were  numerous  enough  in  the  district  north 
of  Pella  to  build  a  house  of  worship  near  the  Skunk 
River:  Bethel  Church,  which  has  been  maintained 
since  1866.  A  third  Dutch  Reformed  church  was 
built  at  Pella  in  1868  and  the  congregation  secured 
Rev.  van  der  Veen  from  Holland  as  its  pastor. 
Scholte's  congregation  of  the  Christian  Church  dis- 
solved in  1869  and  became  the  foundation  for  the 
fourth  Dutch  Reformed  Church,  the  members  of 
which  sold  their  parsonage  and  church  property  at 
auction  in  September,  1909,  and  in  January,  1910. 
In  the  month  of  November,  1869,  a  series  of  meetings 
was  held  at  Pella  and  the  outcome  was  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  Dutch  Presbyterian  Church,  which  held  to- 
gether until  1882.  In  1872  a  society  of  Derbyites  or 
"Brethren"  was  formed  and  has  existed  with  a  small 
membership  including  a  few  Dutch  families.278 

As  fast  as  the  Hollanders  bought  up  farms  at 
long  distances  from  Pella,  they  organized  them- 
selves into  church  congregations.  Thus  numbers 
warranted  the  founding  of  churches  at  Otley  in  1871, 
at  Bethany  near  Sully  in  1886,  at  Leighton,  Mahaska 
County,  in  1889,  at  Galesburg  near  Reasnor,  Jasper 
County,  and  at  Muscatine  in  1891,  and  at  Bethlehem 
near  Taintor,  Mahaska  County,  in  1894.  Since  1902 
congregations  have  been  formed  also  at  Killduff  in 
Jasper  County,  at  Sully  in  Marion  County,  and  at 
Eddyville  in  Wapello  County.  In  1910  these  churches 
of  the  Pella  Classis  served  about  eight  hundred  fam- 


298  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

ilies,  and  claimed  an  enrollment  of  one  thousand 
three  hundred  and  ninety  Sunday-school  pupils  and 
eight  hundred  and  twenty-seven  catechumens.  Six 
of  the  thirteen  pastorates  were  vacant  —  a  fact  from 
which  one  might  infer  that  the  Classis  was  not  flour- 
ishing, were  it  not  for  the  additional  fact  that  the 
churches  contributed  liberally  to  benevolent  and  con- 
gregational enterprises.279 

The  Dutch  Eeformed  Church  spread  with  greater 
rapidity  among  the  Hollanders  of  northwestern  Iowa 
than  it  did  in  the  vicinity  of  Pella.  The  early  set- 
tlers first  met  in  the  various  homes,  then  in  1871  they 
organized  a  congregation.  For  a  time  they  were 
served  by  preachers  who  came  from  Pella  every  two 
weeks,  but  finally  they  unanimously  called  and  ob- 
tained as  their  pastor  Rev.  Seine  Bolks  who  arrived 
from  Zeeland,  Michigan,  in  the  spring  of  1872.  Dur- 
ing the  next  eight  years  he  filled  the  role  of  minister, 
doctor,  and  counsellor,  while  his  people  struggled 
against  locust  depredations.  This  "old  patriarch" 
or  "vader",  as  he  was  styled  by  the  settlers,  had 
wrestled  with  the  hardships  of  backwoods  life  in 
Michigan ;  for  in  1848  he  and  a  large  body  of  immi- 
grants had  left  Holland  and  founded  Overisel,  Mich- 
igan. He  was,  therefore,  equal  to  the  demands  of 
the  first  years  in  Sioux  County,  and  hundreds  of 
Hollanders  would  have  forsaken  their  farms  had  not 
his  simple  faith  buoyed  them  up.280 

For  many  years  Rev.  Bolks  was  the  only  man  who 
ministered  to  the  widely-scattered  Hollanders.  At 
Orange  City  he  preached  in  the  schoolhouse  until  a 


DUTCH  REFORMED  CHURCH  IN  IOWA      299 

separate  church  building  was  finished  in  1873.  Late 
in  November  of  this  year  a  famous  visitor  from  Hol- 
land, in  a  book  of  travels  in  America,  described  the 
events  of  a  Sunday  which  he  spent  at  Orange  City. 
Translated  from  the  Dutch  his  account  reads  as  fol- 
lows: 

'Twas  Sunday,  and  a  Sunday  which  I  shall  not  soon 
forget.  What  a  quiet,  almost  holy  Sabbath  rest  brooded 
over  that  scene!  .  .  .  Such  space,  and  such  stillness, 
seriousness,  and  peace !  How  well  does  the  fresh,  youthful, 
simple  life  of  the  little  colony  harmonize  with  that  quiet, 
pure,  virgin  nature  !  About  us  the  little  settlers'  town  with 
its  widely-scattered  wooden  houses,  and  beyond,  here  and 
there,  at  a  great  distance,  a  little  blue  cloud  of  smoke  rising 
from  the  green  field  of  this  or  that  farm  hidden  in  the  folds 
of  the  undulating  prairie. 

But  see,  gradually  there  comes  a  stir!  Miles  away  we 
see  them  approaching  from  all  directions,  churchgoers  of 
this  morning :  here  a  light  buggy  or  an  open  wagon,  yonder 
a  slow-moving  ox  cart,  or  a  horseman,  also  a  single  amazon, 
a  stout,  young  farmer's  daughter  who  comes  galloping  over 
the  fields,  a  delightful  sight  to  see.  But  whether  they  come 
fast  or  slow,  they  arrive  in  time :  those  who  must  travel  long 
distances  are  seldom  late. 

We  too  betook  ourselves  to  the  large  "public  square", 
as  the  place  is  proudly  called,  on  which  the  settlers  already 
imagine  they  see  noble  buildings  but  which  is  now  nothing 
more  than  a  sketch,  an  open  plot  of  land  surrounded  by 
a  few  small  dwellings  and  four  rows  of  trees  which  can 
stand  in  our  shadows.  But  for  the  moment  we  see  a  big  stir 
there.  Horses  and  oxen,  unhitched,  are  tied  to  posts  or  al- 
lowed to  graze,  and  little  groups  of  men  and  women  form 
here  and  there  in  front  of  blacksmith  shop  and  church. 


300  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

Of  that  church  entertain  no  lofty  expectation!  It  is 
indeed  the  most  unsightly  structure  in  which  I  have  ever 
preached.  Imagine  a  small  rectangular  building  of  boards, 
perhaps  ten  metres  long  and  five  metres  wide,  with  a  stove 
in  the  center  and  benches  around  it.  That  is  the  school. — 
Perpendicular  to  this  school-room  at  one  end,  like  the  upper 
part  of  the  capital  letter  T,  there  is  a  shed  with  a  few 
rough,  unplaned  boards  on  supports  to  serve  as  pews,  and 
against  the  back  wall  opposite  the  entrance  stand  a  chair 
and  a  table  for  the  minister.  This  shed  and  the  school-room 
turned  into  one  form  the  church.  During  the  week  on 
school-days,  the  partition  between  the  two  rooms  is  closed, 
but  on  Sunday  for  church  services  boards  are  removed  from 
the  upper  part  and  the  church  is  then  ready  to  receive  an 
audience. 

To  be  sure  this  is  something  quite  different  from  a  state- 
ly gothic  cathedral  or  the  beautiful  marble  church  edifices 
of  New  York,  but  it  appeals  no  less  to  the  emotions;  yes, 
I  even  dare  assert,  it  is  no  less  picturesque  to  the  eye.  It 
reminds  me  of  Schwartz's  picture  of  the  barn  where  the 
Pilgrim  Fathers  in  America  first  worshipped  God.  Would 
that  my  friend  Bosboom,  who  understands  so  well  the 
charm  of  light  and  Drown  and  knows  how  to  put  feeling 
and  even  poetry  into  a  stable  or  a  view,  would  that  he  were 
here  for  a  short  quarter  of  an  hour  to  catch  the  ray  of  light 
which  the  pale  winter 's  sun  causes  to  play  through  the  little 
open  side-window  against  the  dark  wainscot  and  upon  so 
many  quiet  and  pious  upturned  faces;  or  would  that 
Rochussen  could  reproduce  that  audience  with  a  few  of  his 
ingenious,  characteristic  figures :  men  with  quiet  power  and 
strength  written  in  their  bearing  and  upon  their  faces,  and 
women,  some  of  whom  were  nursing  children,  with  hands 
clasped  in  prayer  which  was  none  the  less  real  although 


DUTCH  REFORMED  CHURCH  IN  IOWA      301 

they  embraced  what  to  them  was  most  precious  on  earth. 
I  have  seldom  if  ever  been  more  inspired  by  an  audience 
than  by  the  one  in  the  midst  of  which  I  was  permitted  to 
stand  that  morning,  and  if  I  returned  any  of  the  inspiration 
which  those  hearers  unconsciously  gave  to  me,  that  Sunday 
morning  on  the  prairies  was  not  entirely  lost  for  eternity. 

Rev.  Bolks  visited  the  Dutch  settlers  in  various 
parts  of  the  colony,  holding  fortnightly  mid-week 
services  in  district  schoolhouses.  His  activity  and 
sincerity  of  purpose  were  long  remembered.  "No 
matter  how  cold  or  stormy  it  might  be, ' '  one  writer 
asserts,  "or  how  rough  or  muddy  the  roads,  or  how 
deep  the  water  in  the  sloughs,  he  was  always  at  his 
post ;  his  prompt  presence  and  his  earnest  efforts  for 
the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  people  could  always  be 
depended  on.  His  words  of  wise  council,  of  kind  ad- 
monition, and  of  encouragement  and  good  cheer  in 
the  days  of  severe  struggles  and  affliction  are  ever 
remembered  with  gratitude  and  sincere  regard. ' ' 

When  congregations  arose  in  1877  at  West 
Branch  (now  Sioux  Center)  and  East  Orange  (now 
Alton),  Rev.  Bolks  served  them  whenever  he  could. 
An  old  settler  afterwards  wrote,  with  a  touch  of 
exaggeration : 

And  how  he  preached  —  without  notes  and  without 
time  —  hammering  the  Bible  until  the  leaves  flew  out  over 
the  audience  —  thundering  away  until  the  sun  went  down. 
But  all  gave  rapt  attention  and  no  one  ever  attempted  to 
leave.  To  my  youthful  mind  it  was  mostly  a  jargon  of 
words  in  which  hell  and  sin  and  eternal  fire  stood  out 
prominent.     He  was  not  a  leader  like  van  Raalte  nor  a 


302  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

scholar  like  Scholte  of  the  parent  colony  but  the  old  Dominie 
did  what  he  could  and  will  be  remembered  kindly  by  a 
generation  of  men  now  fast  disappearing.281 

After  1877  as  the  Hollanders  increased  in  num- 
bers and  spread  out  over  the  adjoining  townships, 
churches  sprang  up  at  North  Orange  (now  Newkirk) 
in  1883,  at  Maurice  in  1884,  at  Middelburg  and  Hull 
in  1885,  at'Hospers  in  1886,  at  Boyden  in  1888,  at  Le 
Mars,  Plymouth  County,  in  1889,  at  Rock  Valley  in 
1891,  at  Sheldon,  O'Brien  County,  in  1895,  at  Car- 
mel  in  1896,  at  Archer,  0  'Brien  County,  in  1900,  and 
at  Doon,  Lyon  County,  since  1902. 

The  language  question  made  its  appearance  at 
Orange  City  in  1885.  Owing  to  the  need  of  services 
in  the  English  language  for  the  benefit  of  the 
younger  generation,  a  second  congregation  was  or- 
ganized and  styled  the  American  Reformed  Church. 
A  similar  need  also  existed  at  Sioux  Center  and 
when  a  second  congregation  of  the  Reformed  Church 
had  been  organized  in  1899  and  services  had  been 
commenced,  a  large  number  of  the  members  appealed 
in  vain  to  the  district  judge  for  an  injunction  to  pro- 
hibit preaching  in  the  Dutch  language  because  they 
had  subscribed  money  for  the  new  church  building 
according  to  the  terms  of  a  contract  which,  they 
claimed,  stipulated  English  as  the  language  to  be 
spoken  in  the  pulpit.  At  Maurice  an  American  Re- 
formed Church  was  planted  after  1902,  and  another 
was  founded  at  Sioux  Center  in  1911. 

These  churches,  mostly  in  the  Iowa  Classis  in 
northwestern   Iowa,   were    in   1910   the   houses    of 


DUTCH  REFORMED  CHURCH  IN  IOWA      303 

worship  of  about  1400  Dutch  families,  and  claimed 
in  round  numbers  3000  communion  members,  4500 
baptized  non-communicants,  2000  catechumens,  and 
3000  enrolled  in  Sunday-schools,  while  their  members 
contributed  generously  to  various  denominational 
and  congregational  purposes.282 

Ministers  of  Dutch  Reformed  congregations  in 
the  neighborhood  of  Pella  and  in  northwestern  Iowa 
have  received  their  training  almost  exclusively  at  the 
Western  Theological  Seminary  at  Holland,  Michigan. 
Some  of  the  older  ministers,  however,  took  their 
courses  at  New  Brunswick  Seminary  in  New  Jersey. 
Most  of  the  pastors  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  the 
Middle  West  have  obtained  their  preparatory  educa- 
tion in  the  Northwestern  Classical  Academy  at 
Orange  City,  Iowa,  or  in  Holland  Academy  at  Hol- 
land, Michigan. 

These  academies  have  always  been  the  chief 
feeders  of  Hope  College  at  Holland,  Michigan ;  and 
Hope  College  in  turn  has  been  the  chief  feeder  of  the 
Western  Theological  Seminary.  New  Brunswick 
Seminary  has  depended  upon  Rutgers  College  and 
Union  College  for  its  students,  and  has  prepared  its 
graduates  chiefly  for  service  in  eastern  congrega- 
tions of  the  Reformed  Church  where  English  has 
been  preached  for  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  years. 
During  its  existence  for  nearly  forty  years  the  Wes- 
tern Theological  Seminary  has  had  as  its  motto: 
' '  Train  Western  men,  for  Western  work,  on  Western 
soil",  and  ministers  are  therefore  trained  to  preach 
in  the  Dutch  language.283 


304  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

Most  of  the  Hollanders  of  Iowa  in  1910  formed 
part  of  a  church  polity  which  consisted  of  689  con- 
gregations, 750  ministers,  65,675  families,  and 
117,288  members.  Over  four  hundred  of  these  con- 
gregations were  situated  in  the  States  of  New  York 
and  New  Jersey.  Michigan  ranked  next  with  62  and 
Iowa  fourth  with  50  churches.284 


XXXVIII 

THE  CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH  IN 

IOWA 

In  the  month  of  August,  1866,  forty-two  members  of 
the  First  Dutch  Reformed  congregation  of  Pella 
withdrew  from  the  fold,  declaring  that  they  would 
return  to  the  doctrine,  discipline,  and  liturgy  or- 
dained by  the  Reformed  Church  of  their  fathers  in 
The  Netherlands.  They  joined  what  was  then  called 
the  True  Reformed  Dutch  Church.  This  denomina- 
tion had  been  organized  by  five  New  Jersey  minis- 
ters who  found  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  too 
mildly  Calvinistic  in  its  theology.  Several  congre- 
gations of  Christian  immigrants  in  Michigan  seceded 
from  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  in  the  autumn  of 
1856  and  later  called  themselves  the  Christian  Re- 
formed Church.285 

These  seceders  put  forth  as  their  bill  of  griev- 
ances against  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  the  fol- 
lowing counts :  first,  the  forms  of  unity  such  as  the 
Belgic  Confession  and  the  Heidelberg  Catechism 
were  merely  professed,  not  practiced ;  secondly,  here- 
tic ministers  were  not  prevented  from  disseminating 
their  opinions ;  thirdly,  bad  practices  were  allowed, 
such  as  choir  singing,  bringing  corpses  into  the 
church,  and  funeral  sermons ;  fourthly,  hundreds  of 

305 


306  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

English  hymns  were  used  in  addition  to  the  Psalms ; 
fifthly,  the  publication  of  Sunday-school  literature 
was  allowed  jointly  with  other  denominations,  and 
members  of  other  denominations  were  admitted  to 
the  Lord's  Supper.286 

After  the  organization  of  the  first  congregation 
in  1866,  a  second  one  was  formed  at  Pella  in  1869, 
and  others  have  been  planted  at  various  places  with- 
in a  radius  of  about  twenty  miles  from  Pella:  in 
1893  at  Leighton  and  in  1894  at  Taintor,  small  towns 
of  Mahaska  County,  at  Sully  in  1896,  at  Otley  in 
1898,  at  Eeasnor  in  Jasper  County  in  1898,  at  Har- 
vey in  1902,  at  Oskaloosa  in  1903,  and  at  Prairie 
City  in  Jasper  County  in  1904.  The  Church's 
growth  in  that  region  indicates  how  the  Hollanders 
are  spreading  in  three  counties  around  Pella.  In 
1911  about  four  hundred  and  fifty  families  con- 
sisting of  2000  Hollanders  worshipped  in  these 
churches.287 

The  Hollanders  of  northwestern  Iowa  brought 
their  Christian  Reformed  Church  connections  at  Pel- 
la with  them,  and  organized  a  congregation  at 
Orange  City  in  1874.  Subsequently  they  established 
flourishing  churches  at  Sioux  Center  and  Rock  Val- 
ley in  1891,  at  Le  Mars,  Plymouth  County,  in  1892, 
at  Hull  in  1893,  at  Hospers  in  1894,  at  Middelburg 
in  1901,  at  Doon,  Lyon  County,  in  1902,  at  Lebanon 
in  1903,  at  Carnes  in  1904,  at  Sheldon,  O'Brien 
County,  in  1906,  and  at  Ireton  in  1908.  Over  eight 
hundred  families  or  approximately  3000  Hollanders 
attended  these  churches  in  1911.     There  were  also 


CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH  IN  IOWA  307 

many  Hollanders  in  the  Classis  of  East  Friesland 
at  the  towns  of  Ackley  in  Hardin  County  and  Wells- 
burg  in  Grundy  County,  but  most  of  the  members 
of  the  Christian  Reformed  denomination  in  this  part 
of  Iowa  were  Germans.288 

The  Christian  Reformed  denomination  in  Iowa 
had  but  few  Sunday-schools,  and  few  young  people's 
societies  or  other  associations  in  1907,  but  has  al- 
ways emphasized  instruction  in  the  Heidelberg 
Catechism,  long  deemed  very  important  in  the  train- 
ing of  children.  Many  of  the  ministers  received 
their  training  in  The  Netherlands  before  they  emi- 
grated to  America,  but  the  majority  were  graduates 
of  John  Calvin  Junior  College  with  its  four-year 
preparatory  course  and  three-year  college  course, 
and  of  the  theological  school  at  Grand  Rapids,  Michi- 
gan, the  American  stronghold  of  the  church.289 

The  Christian  Reformed  Church  in  America  has 
increased  its  membership  with  remarkable  rapidity 
since  1880  —  a  year  famous  in  its  history  on  account 
of  the  anti-Masonic  movement  in  Michigan.  A  fierce 
dispute  arose  in  certain  congregations  of  the  Dutch 
Reformed  Church  over  the  question  whether  mem- 
bership in  secret  societies  was  consistent  with  mem- 
bership in  the  church.  The  Dutch  Reformed  Church 
adhered  to  its  custom  never  to  legislate  on  abstract 
questions  and  referred  the  matter  entirely  to  the  de- 
cision of  each  church  consistory  concerned.  Seces- 
sions from  the  older  church  commenced  with  re- 
newed vigor  and  continued  for  two  years. 

Since  then  the  younger  church  has  opposed  secret 


308  THE  HOLLANDERS  OP  IOWA 


societies  because :  first,  they  boast  too  much  of  their 
charity,  whereas  it  is  simply  a  matter  of  business, 
like  insurance ;  secondly,  they  exert  a  bad  influence 
on  politics  and  political  institutions,  and  are  "an 
empire  within  an  empire";  thirdly,  they  have  a 
nomenclature  which  is  immodest,  ludicrous,  incon- 
sistent with  republican  usage,  and  even  blasphemous, 
and  the  titles  of  their  officers  "savor  too  much  of 
child's  play  and  are  unworthy  of  serious  men"; 
fourthly,  they  have  ceremonies  too  frivolous  for 
earnest  Christians  and  too  dangerous  to  life ;  fifthly, 
they  use  or  rather  abuse  the  Bible  in  their  ritual; 
sixthly,  they  virtually  exclude  Christ  as  the  Savior, 
yet  they  often  declare  deceased  members  saved ;  and 
seventhly,  they  require  unwarranted  and  sinful 
oaths. 

The  spread  of  the  Christian  Reformed  Church 
since  1880  has  been  phenomenal  compared  with  that 
of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church.  From  144  con- 
gregations in  1900  the  number  had  leaped  to  189  in 
1911,  ministering  to  about  15,000  families  or  80,000 
souls  in  nineteen  States  of  the  Union  and  in  the 
Dominion  of  Canada.  In  fifteen  of  these  churches 
the  English  language  was  used  exclusively;  in  ten 
churches  of  the  Classis  of  East  Friesland  in  Iowa 
the  German  language  prevailed;  and  Dutch  was 
spoken  in  all  the  others. 

There  was  a  time  when  the  stream  of  immigrant 
Hollanders  turned  into  Dutch  Reformed  channels, 
but  in  recent  years  nearly  all  Christian  Netherland- 
er have  united  with  the  Christian  Reformed  Church, 


CHRISTIAN  REFORMED  CHURCH  IN  IOWA  309 

chiefly  because  of  an  impression  gained  in  Holland 
that  the  older  church  in  such  matters  as  retaining 
within  its  fold  members  of  secret  oath-bound  so- 
cieties, laxity  in  preaching  the  catechism,  and  neg- 
lect of  catechetical  instruction,  was  not  really  Re- 
formed in  doctrine  or  practice,  and  was  too  much 
given  to  Americanization.  Hence  the  younger  church 
has  aimed  to  maintain  Calvinistic  principles  and 
practices  in  their  purity  and  to  keep  the  churches 
distinctively  Dutch  in  preaching  and  teaching.  Ad- 
herents of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  have  ex- 
claimed against  the  attitude  of  people  in  The  Nether- 
lands but  have  not  been  able  to  remove  the  cloud.290 


XXXIX 

RELIGIOUS  LIFE  OF  THE  HOLLANDERS  IN 

1910 

Fkom  the  foregoing  glimpse  of  the  congregations  of 
Hollanders  in  Iowa  it  will  be  seen  that  in  most  towns 
Dutch  Reformed  and  Christian  Reformed  churches 
exist  side  by  side.  Except  among  the  prejudiced 
and  less  enlightened  members  of  the  two  denomina- 
tions there  is  no  open  hostility  or  show  of  enmity. 
The  ministers  of  the  two  sects  live  on  good  terms. 
As  a  rule  Hollanders  are  tolerant  in  the  matters  of 
belief ;  and  yet  it  must  be  admitted  that  whenever  op- 
portunity offers  they  spend  considerable  time  in 
pointing  out  each  other's  theological  weaknesses.  In- 
deed it  sometimes  seems  that  despite  their  faithful 
attendance  at  church  they  are  more  sectarian  than 
religious. 

Members  of  the  older  church  tend  to  abhor  all 
that  is  ' '  separatist ' ' ;  while  members  of  the  younger 
church  seek  too  diligently  for  things  to  criticise  and 
condemn :  they  are  too  ready  to  draw  up  indictments 
against  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  which  has  urged 
that  its  standards  of  doctrine  and  polity  and  those 
of  the  Christian  Reformed  Church  are  for  all  prac- 
tical purposes  identical,  and  that,  therefore,  the  two 
denominations  should  fight  shoulder  to  shoulder  for 

310 


RELIGIOUS  LIFE  IN  1910  311 

the  interests  of  God's  Kingdom.  The  Christian  Re- 
formed Church  decries  the  idea  and  prophesies  that 
union  would  be  a  calamity  rather  than  a  blessing. 

Neither  sect  appears  willing  to  budge:  each  still 
prefers  to  emphasize  and  judge  the  other's  faults. 
And  so  the  chasm  is  gradually  widening.291  Never- 
theless, the  fact  that  a  spirit  of  Christian  brother- 
hood exists  was  never  better  shown  than  when  a  hur- 
ricane in  1902  destroyed  the  large  Dutch  Reformed 
church  at  Sioux  Center:  the  Christian  Reformed 
congregation  at  once  allowed  the  unfortunate  people 
the  use  of  their  building  for  services. 

In  their  religious  life  the  Hollanders  of  Iowa 
have  always  donated  liberally  to  benevolent  causes. 
Pella  sent  $1500  to  the  fire  sufferers  of  Chicago  in 
1871;  and  besides  a  carload  of  necessities,  such  as 
clothing  and  flour,  they  contributed  $2500  to  the 
people  of  Holland,  Michigan,  when  their  city  was 
laid  in  ashes.  They  gave  munificently  of  their  means 
when  famine-stricken  British  India  called  for  food: 
much  money  and  numerous  carloads  of  corn  found 
their  way  to  the  hungry  thousands  of  that  land. 
Their  charity  was  equally  exemplified  when  the  peo- 
ple of  Galveston,  Texas,  were  rendered  homeless  by 
flood.  With  open  purses  they  welcomed  a  man  who 
preached  in  their  churches  on  behalf  of  an  orphan 
asylum  in  Holland ;  thousands  of  dollars  were  raised 
for  the  Boers ;  and  a  similar  spirit  was  shown  by  the 
ladies  of  various  church  organizations  when  they 
collected  clothing  for  Boer  war  prisoners  on  the 
Bermuda  Islands.     (See  Appendix  B.) 


312  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

For  local  church  objects  the  Hollanders  are 
equally  ready  to  give.  For  instance,  at  Sioux  Cen- 
ter they  have  constructed  three  handsome  and  sub- 
stantial brick  church  buildings,  for  which  they  sub- 
scribed and  pledged  as  much  as  $50,000.  Churches 
of  the  Iowa  Classis  in  northwestern  Iowa  in  1910 
donated  over  $10,000  to  foreign  missions  and  about 
$6000  to  domestic  missions,  while  the  Pella  Classis 
contributed  over  $4000  and  nearly  $3000  to  the  same 
causes.292 

The  Dutch  are  regular  in  attendance  at  church, 
going  at  least  once  on  Sunday,  either  in  the  morning 
or  in  the  afternoon,  and  frequently  attending  both 
services.  Evening  services  are  seldom  held  in  Dutch 
churches.  Women  usually  occupy  certain  pews, 
mothers  taking  their  smallest  children  with  them. 
The  men  folks  also  sit  together,  fathers  with  their 
older  children.  Such  old-fashioned  practices  as 
these,  however,  are  beginning  to  disappear,  and  now 
one  does  not  infrequently  find  all  the  members  of  a 
family  seated  in  the  same  pew. 

Pew  rents  were  once  collected  at  Pella.  In  one 
church  in  1860  pews  were  auctioned  off  for  $4200  — 
a  sum  which  nine  years  later  had  fallen  to  $1700. 
This  arrangement  was  necessary  in  the  days  of  small 
buildings  and  large  crowds :  people  wanted  to  be 
assured  of  seats  when  they  went  to  worship.293  But 
pew-letting  was  bad  on  principle :  it  was  not  only 
undemocratic  but  savored  of  sacrilege,  as  it  was  an 
unchristian  way  of  raising  money  for  the  Lord's 
work.    Worst  of  all  it  destroyed  the  spirit  of  volun- 


RELIGIOUS  LIFE  IN  1910  313 


tary  giving,  a  spirit  which  is  now  well  displayed  by 
fathers  who  before  Sunday  church  services  distribute 
one  cent  pieces  or  nickels  or  dimes,  according  to 
their  means,  to  members  of  their  families.  Thus 
children  are  taught  early  in  life  to  give  to  the  church. 

Religion  pervades  the  atmosphere  of  Dutch  com- 
munities. Church-going  is  practically  the  only 
unique  feature  in  the  life  of  people  who  toil  hard  as 
day-laborers,  mechanics,  men  of  business,  and  farm- 
ers. The  motto  which  rules  them  is  surely:  "Lab- 
orate  et  orate » '  ( "  Labor  and  pray  " ) .  On  Sundays, 
morning  and  afternoon,  highways  in  country  and 
town  are  thronged  with  buggies  and  carriages  bear- 
ing the  people  —  singly,  in  couples,  or  in  families  — 
to  church.  With  the  exception  of  Saturdays  when 
farmers  come  to  town  for  marketing,  town  streets 
are  never  so  lively  as  on  a  beautiful  Sunday  after- 
noon. 

Of  course  not  all  the  Hollanders  of  Iowa  are 
church-goers,  but  those  who  do  not  have  church  con- 
nections of  some  sort  are  comparatively  few.  The 
great  majority  of  the  Hollanders  attend  church. 
They  do  not  wish  to  sacrifice  the  spiritual  welfare 
of  themselves  and  their  children  —  a  fact  attested 
by  their  numerous  commodious  church  edifices  in 
both  Marion  and  Sioux  counties.  In  practically  all 
Dutch  Reformed  churches  and  in  a  few  Christian 
Reformed  churches  Sunday-schools  are  held  im- 
mediately after  preaching  services  from  three  to 
four  o'clock.  Just  as  the  church  service  consists  of 
scripture  lessons,  long  prayers,  the  dolorous  singing 


314  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

of  Psalms,  and  orthodox  sermons,  all  in  the  Dutch 
language,  so  the  Sunday-schools  are  usually  con- 
ducted by  means  of  lessons  printed  in  the  Dutch  lan- 
guage. Instead  of  Psalms,  however,  American 
hymn-books  are  coming  to  be  used  in  the  Sunday- 
schools.  Once  a  week  as  a  rule  the  pastors  of  the 
churches  catechise  the  children.  Annual  Sunday 
school  picnics  and  distributions  of  presents  at 
Christmas  time  are  red-letter  days  for  the  children. 

In  religious  matters  Hollanders  differ  from 
Americans  in  certain  noteworthy  respects.  They 
firmly  believe  in  infant  baptism;  they  cling  to  the 
catechism;  they  seldom  if  ever  have  exhibitions  or 
concerts  to  raise  money,  for  they  are  not  fussy 
when  it  comes  to  giving;  and  they  have  no  choirs. 
Furthermore,  they  do  not  lock  church  doors  for  the 
hot  season:  fifty-two  Sundays  in  the  year,  besides 
Thanksgiving  and  Christmas  days,  pastor  and  con-' 
gregation  meet  together.  They  take  no  demoraliz- 
ing vacations.  In  recent  years  they  have  been  hold- 
ing "mission  feasts",  and  they  have  contributed 
large  sums  of  money  annually  and  not  a  few  men 
and  women  to  missions.  Many  now  celebrate  the 
Fourth  of  July  in  a  Christian  way.  But  they  do 
not  countenance  dancing  or  card  playing,  and  are 
seldom  visited  by  theatrical  companies. 

English  is  the  language  preached  in  only  four 
out  of  fifty  congregations  of  the  Dutch  Reformed 
Church  in  Iowa,  while  the  Dutch  language  has  been 
preserved  in  all  the  other  congregations  and  es- 
pecially in  the  Christian  Reformed  Church.     (See 


RELIGIOUS  LIFE  IN  1910  315 

Appendix  C.)  Nothing  more  typical  can  be  sug- 
gested to  show  the  Hollander's  extreme  dislike  of 
innovation.  It  is  said  that  English  preaching  was 
introduced  into  New  York  City  in  1763  not  without 
"a  lawsuit,  besides  sad  losses  of  temper,  money,  and 
membership".  Of  this  remarkable  display  of  Dutch 
tenaciousness  one  historian  has  written: 

It  was  difficult  then,  however,  as  it  is  for  some  of  the 
old  Dutchmen  of  to-day  in  Michigan  and  Iowa,  to  under- 
stand how  the  omnipotent  God  can  be  trusted  to  reveal  the 
truth  in  any  language  but  the  Dutch,  or  in  any  theology 
but  that  of  Dordrecht  and  the  seventeenth  century.  How, 
also,  sound  catechetics  can  be  taught  in  English  is  still,  to 
some  fresh  from  the  turf  of  Patria,  a  mystery  passing  their 
understanding. 

The  clannishness  of  Hollanders  is  perhaps  due 
chiefly  to  their  activity  in  church  affairs.  One  can 
not  deny  that  they  look  askance  at  the  habits,  man- 
ners, and  usages  of  Americans  in  religious  life. 
Pastors  of  both  Dutch  denominations  assume  a  nat- 
ural leadership  in  the  community  and  their  congre- 
gations continue  to  represent  old-fashioned  ortho- 
doxy. What  was  once  asserted  with  regard  to  the 
Dutch  Reformed  Church  applies  with  equal  force 
to  the  Christian  Reformed  Church,  namely,  that  in 
loyalty  to  the  interests  of  their  church,  in  charity 
and  truth,  in  practical  piety  and  Christian  bene- 
ficence, the  people  of  Dutch  congregations  in  the 
"West  in  no  respect  fall  behind  American  church- 
men. Surely  they  "are  not  perfect;  they  have  not 
reached  the  ideal  of  Christendom;  but  they  are  a 


316  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

serious,  industrious,  and  pious  people  who  do  not 
need  to  retire  on  account  of  a  comparison  with  other 
congregations."  294 


XL 

COMMUNITY  LIFE  AMONG  THE  HOLLAND- 
ERS IN  IOWA 

The  Dutch  nation  has  always  been  an  easy  subject 
for  "the  panegyrical  and  eulogistic  historian".  The 
indomitable  traits  of  the  Dutch  national  character, 
revealed  by  the  annals  of  Holland's  Golden  Age 
which  are  among  the  most  interesting  in  the  world's 
history,  have  endured  until  this  day,  though  Hol- 
land's splendor  and  glory  as  a  first-rate  power  of 
Europe  have  long  since  declined.  Despite  national 
decay  every  intelligent  Hollander,  whether  he  is 
thrown  among  strangers  or  remains  at  home,  re- 
tains a  strong  feeling  of  national  pride.  He  honors 
the  memory  of  his  ancestors  for  their  deeds  of  hero- 
ism and  bravery,  even  when  he  comes  to  live  among 
the  inhabitants  of  successful  Dutch  communities  in 
Iowa. 

Impelled  by  a  love  of  religious  liberty  and  a  hope 
of  finding  for  themselves  and  their  children  larger 
opportunities  to  live,  hundreds  of  Hollanders  re- 
moved to  America  in  1846  and  1847,  some  to  dwell 
in  the  unpeopled  forests  of  western  Michigan  and 
others  to  occupy  the  frontier  farms  of  central  Iowa. 
Though  religion  has  ceased  to  be  a  cause  of  emigra- 
tion, much  the  same  type  —  the  Hollander  of  old- 

317 


318  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

fashioned  ways  and  sturdy  puritanical  mien  —  con- 
tinues to  arrive  in  Iowa.  Those  who  were  once 
heralded  as  "an  interesting  and  valuable  class  of 
foreigners"  have  undergone  the  process  of  Amer- 
icanization for  several  decades.  More  recent  im- 
migrants —  although  some  to  be  sure  have  left  Hol- 
land for  their  country's  good  —  are  in  general  no 
less  valuable  as  an  acquisition  to  America's  con- 
glomerate of  nationalities. 

Although  the  Hollanders  have  occupied  territory 
in  Marion  County  and  vicinity  for  nearly  sixty- 
five  years,  they  have  not  yet  become  amalgamated 
with  the  American  people  of  Anglo-Saxon  origin. 
They  still  form  a  distinctively  Dutch  community,  as 
do  their  kinsmen  and  fellow-countrymen  of  north- 
western Iowa.  For  perpetuating  this  peculiar  aloof- 
ness perhaps  no  other  single  agency  has  been  so 
responsible  as  the  church.  In  the  local  social  life 
of  the  Dutch  the  churches  are  undoubtedly  the 
strongest  factor :  they  have  kept  the  Hollanders  iso- 
lated from  close  and  intimate  relations  with  their 
English-speaking  and  German  neighbors. 

Naturally  Dutch  immigrants  also  show  an  in- 
clination to  look  upon  the  people  of  other  nationali- 
ties with  a  somewhat  supercilious  air  —  a  feeling 
which  has  accordingly  retarded  intermarriage.  For 
years  sons  of  well-to-do  Hollanders  have  married 
daughters  of  other  well-to-do  Hollanders,  oftentimes 
brothers  of  one  family  choosing  sisters  of  another, 
and  usually  all  belong  to  the  same  church  denomina- 


COMMUNITY  LIFE  319 

ation,  a  stereotyped  rule  which  loses  some  of  its 
force  with  each  succeeding  generation. 

Whenever  from  choice  or  from  force  of  circum- 
stances the  Dutch  immigrant  makes  his  home  among 
Americans  he  shows  that  he  possesses  the  imita- 
tive faculty  to  a  high  degree :  he  is  quick  to  adopt 
the  habits  and  methods  of  his  American  neighbors, 
and  experiences  no  particular  difficulty  in  casting 
off  much  of  his  old  Dutch  sturdiness.  But  when  he 
prefers  to  throw  in  his  lot  with  a  community  of  his 
fellow-countrymen,  he  conforms  to  a  well-preserved 
social  order  based  on  Dutch  stability  and  stolidity. 
He  finds  that  his  Dutch  neighbors  have  lived  and 
worked  within  the  confines  of  their  settlement, 
whether  in  town  or  in  the  country;  that  nearly  all 
are  engaged  and  interested  in  the  same  occupations ; 
and  that  their  whole  life  is  centred  about  their 
churches. 

And  so  with  the  retention  of  old  Dutch  national 
traits  intensified  by  constant  accessions  of  fresh 
blood  from  The  Netherlands,  despite  their  patriot- 
ism and  partial  adoption  of  the  English  language, 
American  inventions,  and  a  few  American  ways, 
the  Hollanders  of  Iowa  form  a  lump  which  can  not 
truthfully  be  said  to  have  entered  the  American 
'" melting  pot".  They  are  still  for  the  most  part  an 
imassimilated,  clannish,  though  not  entirely  isolated, 
mass  of  foreigners  who  have  necessarily  acquired  an 
American  veneer  from  the  environment  created  by 
the  political  and  social  ideas  of  America. 


320  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

TOWN  LIFE 

Town  life  among  the  Hollanders  of  Iowa  does 
not  appear  to  be  unlike  that  of  the  ordinary  Amer- 
ican community,  and  yet  upon  close  observation 
many  points  of  difference  suggest  themselves.  Pel- 
la,  despite  its  age  and  its  large  American  element, 
is  still  the  typical  Dutch  town  of  Iowa.  Like  other 
towns  where  Hollanders  live  in  numbers,  Pella  cov- 
ers an  immense  area  of  country,  a  very  natural  re- 
sult when  people  purchase  large  plots  of  land  for 
their  houses,  barns,  and  gardens.  Old-fashioned 
Hollanders  are  not  easily  satisfied  with  a  mere  city 
lot:  they  want  room  for  a  potato  patch  and  for 
various  kinds  of  vegetables  of  which  they  may  eat 
in  season  and  store  a  surplus  for  the  winter,  and 
they  take  a  keen  delight  in  exercising  their  know- 
ledge of  gardening.295  The  younger  generation,  how- 
ever, tends  to  pull  away  from  the  soil,  and  to  apply 
spare  moments  to  the  care  of  lawns  and  flower  beds. 
But  generally  speaking,  Hollanders  show  more  in- 
terest in  ordinary  gardening  than  their  American 
neighbors;  and  except  when  their  houses  occupy 
conspicuous  places,  they  manifest  less  consideration 
for  lawns  and  lawn-mowers.  Day-laborers  pay  least 
attention  to  these  matters :  few  can  spare  the  time 
and  many  take  no  pride  in  premises  which  they  do 
not  own. 

Arboriculture,  and  more  especially  landscape 
gardening  by  means  of  grades  and  terraces,  seem 
to  be  classed  by  most  Dutch  towns-people  among  the 


COMMUNITY  LIFE  321 

frills  and  luxuries  of  life  and  are,  therefore,  not 
deemed  worthy  of  much  serious  attention.  Or- 
chards are  comparatively  few  in  town  or  country, 
and  where  they  do  exist  they  are  in  most  cases  al- 
lowed to  grow  up  wild.  Indeed,  Hollanders  in  Iowa 
do  not  seem  to  appreciate  fully  the  value  and  beauty 
of  fruit  trees :  Sioux  County  ranks  ninety-sixth  in 
the  State  of  Iowa,  only  three  counties  having  a 
smaller  acreage  in  orchards !  Ornamental  trees  and 
shrubbery  are  only  occasionally  seen.  Retired 
farmers,  a  numerous  class  in  most  Dutch  towns, 
have  more  time  for  such  pursuits  as  flower  culture, 
lawn-mowing,  and  gardening ;  and  they  usually  have 
yards  that  are  models  of  cleanliness  and  rustic  sim- 
plicity. Dutch  tulip  and  hyacinth  bulbs  have  been 
imported  every  year  into  at  least  one  town. 

Good  substantial  hardwood  trees  seem  never  to 
have  appealed  strongly  to  the  Hollanders  of  Iowa. 
They  cut  down  nearly  all  of  the  fine  hardwood  tim- 
ber of  Marion  County  for  their  pioneer  dwellings. 
There  as  in  Sioux  County  Dutch  farmers  and  towns- 
people have  had  an  eye  for  quick  results  rather  than 
for  permanent  beauty,  for  in  their  impatience  to  en- 
joy shade  in  summer  and  protection  from  cold  blasts 
in  winter  they  planted  cheap  softwood  trees.  Box- 
elders,  cottonwoods,  and  soft  maples  are  seldom  ob- 
jects of  comeliness  in  yards  or  upon  city  streets, 
least  of  all  when  they  begin  to  display  dead  branches 
and  decayed  wood :  they  give  towns  an  appearance  of 
premature  age  and  suggest  a  lack  of  local  civic 
pride.     Elms,  oaks,  hard  maples,  and  hickories  may 


322  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

be  better  adapted  to  a  gravel  soil  and  running  water, 
but  they  flourish  wherever  they  have  been  planted 
in  Sioux  County  towns,  though  the  enjoyment  of 
shade  was  postponed  for  several  years. 

Picket  and  woven  wire  fences  still  exist  to  a 
large  extent  in  the  towns,  but  hedges  not  at  all.  For 
the  sake  of  simplicity  and  economy  the  Hollander 
upon  the  farm  prefers  barbed  wire,  and  usually 
builds  no  fence  along  the  country  road,  an  arrange- 
ment which  enables  him  to  cultivate  a  considerable 
strip  of  the  public  highway.  The  Hollander  in  town, 
believing  in  privacy  as  well  as  orderliness,  sur- 
rounds his  premises  with  a  fence  of  some  sort,  but 
studiously  avoids  cutting  off  his  view  of  the  street : 
he  wants  to  be  able  to  see  passersby. 

Houses  in  Pella  and  other  Dutch  towns  are  in 
general  plain  frame  buildings  of  various  shapes  and 
sizes,  standing  at  irregular  distances  from  the  street. 
Owing  to  lack  of  uniformity  in  this  respect  town 
streets  present  an  appearance  by  no  means  attrac- 
tive. At  Pella  one-story  frame  and  brick  cottages, 
many  with  green  and  yellow  shutters  modelled  after 
the  cottages  of  Holland,  stand  here  and  there  as  re- 
minders of  the  early  years.  As  in  American  towns, 
there  are,  of  course,  many  houses  of  modern  archi- 
tecture, reflecting  various  degrees  of  personal  taste, 
but  generally  exteriors  as  well  as  interiors  affect 
severe  simplicity  with  all  the  proverbial  evidences 
of  Dutch  cleanliness.  This  plainness  tends  to  give 
way  as  wealth  increases  and  the  desire  for  display 
enters  the  minds  of  the  younger  people.     The  piano 


COMMUNITY  LIFE  323 

has  found  its  way  into  the  parlors  of  Dutch  com- 
munities, rather  as  an  object  of  decoration  than  as 
an  indication  of  culture,  refinement,  or  musical 
talent,  for  the  music-teacher  has  received  but  scant 
encouragement.  Hollanders  show  more  fondness 
for  vocal  than  for  instrumental  music. 

As  in  most  other  respects,  in  dress  the  Holland- 
ers, men  and  women  and  children,  maintain  the 
same  strict  simplicity.  Certainly  gaudiness  and  the 
latest  styles  from  the  world's  fashion  centers  are  not 
paraded  where  the  Dutch  live,  for  society  makes  few 
demands  upon  them.  Social  intercourse  can  not  be 
said  to  reign  or  even  to  exist  in  private  life  except 
among  people  who  happen  to  be  more  or  less  as- 
sociated in  business,  although  considerable  fellow- 
ship is  bound  up  with  church  life.  The  genuine, 
hard-working  Hollander  is  more  often  a  man  of 
domestic  tastes,  closely  attached  to  his  home  with  its 
simple  comforts  and  a  housewife's  excellent  cook- 
ing :  such  a  place  affords  him  the  best  retreat. 

Dutch  dishes  of  well-cooked,  wholesome  foods  of 
the  heavier  sort  still  predominate  among  the  Hol- 
landers of  Iowa;  but  of  course  some  American 
dishes  have  been  adopted.  Edam  cheese,  smoked 
beef,  rye  bread,  rusks,  currant  bread,  Sint  Nicolaas 
cookies,  and  other  national  delicacies  have  survived 
the  journey  across  the  Atlantic  and  are  just  as  popu- 
lar among  the  Dutch  in  America  as  in  Holland. 
Needless  to  say  the  Dutch  eat  heartily. 

A  visitor  to  the  home  of  a  Hollander  of  average 


324  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

means  is  greeted  with  frank  hospitality  and  unre- 
served courtesy.  If  he  conies  in  the  morning  at 
about  ten  o'clock,  he  will  be  treated  to  coffee  and 
something  to  eat  with  it.  In  the  same  way  will  he 
be  welcomed  at  mid-afternoon,  a  custom  which  pre- 
vails especially  upon  the  farms  where  the  men  have 
their  refreshments  regularly  mornings  and  after- 
noons. Good  manners  are  generally  the  mark  of 
the  foreign-born  Hollander  who  has  had  some  ex- 
perience of  social  ranks,  but  they  are  not  infre- 
quently missing  in  Dutch  children  reared  in  the 
American  atmosphere  of  hurry  and  money-making. 

Hollanders  who  have  sprung  from  the  middle 
class  of  townspeople  in  The  Netherlands  have  re- 
tained intact  in  America  most  of  the  traits  character- 
istic of  genteel  people  everywhere.  Culture,  how- 
ever, in  the  broad  sense  of  the  word,  is  conspicuously 
absent  in  the  life  of  most  Hollanders  in  Iowa.  With 
the  exception  of  ministers,  teachers,  and  other  peo- 
ple of  more  than  ordinary  education,  the  Hollanders, 
it  is  to  be  feared,  have  sadly  neglected  even  the  most 
accessible  forms  of  culture,  such  as  reading,  for  in 
a  majority  of  homes  the  visitor  will  find  but  a  scant 
supply  of  good  newspapers,  magazines,  and  books.296 
To  stimulate  interest  in  reading,  a  Dutch  woman, 
Miss  Sieberke  Viersen,  donated  land  and  money  for 
the  Carnegie-Viersen  Library  at  Pella.  Other  Dutch 
communities  are  as  yet  without  such  modern  oppor- 
tunities. 

The  following  quotation  with  reference  to  the 


COMMUNITY  LIFE  325 

first  Dutch  immigrants  to  Iowa  does  not  apply  to  the 
great  mass  of  Hollanders  who  arrived  later: 

Even  among  those  Pilgrims  who  had  fled  from  religious 
persecution  in  Holland  and  were  professed  lovers  of  Demo- 
cracy, there  were  degrees  in  the  social  scale.  The  wealthy 
and  educated  and  more  refined  were  exclusive.  They 
brought  their  ideas  of  social  position  with  them.  The  social 
line  between  master  and  servant,  or  employer  and  employed, 
was  much  more  marked  than  with  Americans  of  this  new 
western  country.  A  young  lady  who  belonged  to  a  family 
of  "upper  ten"  Hollanders  once  said  to  me:  "I  never 
worked  in  Holland  for  it  was  considered  disgraceful  there 
for  a  lady  to  work,  but  in  America  I  find  it  is  thought  to  be 
disgraceful  for  a  lady  not  to  work. ' ' 297 

It  is  true,  however,  that  among  the  pioneers 
there  prevailed  greater  simplicity  of  taste  and  a 
wider  community  of  interest  than  exists  among  their 
successors  to-day.  In  all  the  towns  where  Holland- 
ers live  one  may  find  unmistakable  signs  of  undemo- 
cratic ways :  some  citizens  put  on  airs,  not  marked, 
but  none  the  less  noticeable.  At  the  same  time  there 
exists  a  fairly  even  distribution  of  wealth,  and  one 
notes  neither  extreme  wealth  nor  extreme  poverty; 
while  as  far  as  descent  is  concerned  the  Hollanders 
of  Iowa  are  for  the  most  part  sprung  from  the  com- 
mon people  of  Holland:  hence  there  is  at  least  an 
equality  of  birth,  even  if  the  people  are  not  equally 
wealthy,  intelligent,  and  cultured.  A  tendency  to  es- 
tablish ranks  on  the  basis  of  wealth  has  sprung  up ; 
but  despite  airs  of  superiority,  real  or  imagined,  Hol- 
landers in  America  address  each  other  familiarly  in 


326  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

Dutch,  a  thing  which  they  did  not  and  could  not  do 
in  monarchical  Holland  where  class  distinctions  and 
special  forms  of  address  abound. 

Business  men  of  the  towns  naturally  assume  the 
initiative  in  matters  of  civic  concern,  for  if  such  af- 
fairs were  left  to  retired  farmers,  artisans,  and 
laboring  men,  no  great  amount  of  public  spirit  would 
be  shown.  Much  has  already  been  accomplished  in 
the  way  of  municipal  improvements  in  such  towns 
as  Pella,  Orange  City,  Alton,  and  Sioux  Center.  Pel- 
la  has  electric  light  and  water  conveyed  from  the  Des 
Moines  River,  about  four  miles  distant,  and  lights 
some  of  its  streets  with  electroliers.  Orange  City 
also  has  electricity,  while  the  other  towns  own  gas 
plants.  All  have  telephones  and  miles  upon  miles 
of  good  cement  walks  and  crossings. 

Public  parks  in  the  two  older  towns  do  not  seem 
to  inspire  much  civic  pride,  are  little  enjoyed,  and 
less  attended  to.  Band-stands  also  have  stood  for 
many  years,  but  there  is  not  the  sustained  enthu- 
siasm which  is  necessary  to  maintain  bands  year 
after  year.  And  yet  when  such  organizations  as 
brass-bands  and  base-ball  teams  are  called  into  ex- 
istence, they  are  liberally  supported  by  the  business 
men  and  citizens.  Young  men  outgrow  their  period 
of  play  and  early  direct  their  efforts  to  the  achieve- 
ment of  financial  success  —  whereupon  they  have  no 
time  to  sacrifice  in  purely  congenial  pursuits. 

Public  school  buildings  in  the  Dutch  communities 
compare  favorably  with  those  of  American  towns. 
Jails  might  just  as  well  not  exist,  for  lawlessness  is 


COMMUNITY  LIFE  327 

almost  unknown.  The  saloons  of  two  or  three  years 
ago  have  been  plucked  out  of  Pella,  Orange  City,  and 
some  other  towns,  and  though  a  visit  to  their  rail- 
road stations  reveals  a  brisk  traffic  in  liquor,  Hol- 
landers are  pretty  evenly  divided  between  temper- 
ance and  total  abstinence. 

Neat  stores  and  good  shop  windows  add  much 
to  the  appearance  of  most  of  the  towns.  When 
high  market  prices  induce  farmers  to  go  to  town  with 
their  loads  of  hogs  or  grain,  and  when  Saturdays 
come,  town  streets  and  stores  lose  their  deserted 
look  and  business  becomes  paramount.  Then  town 
and  country  people  throng  the  shops  —  the  former  to 
buy  goods  for  cash,  and  the  latter  to  trade  their 
butter  and  eggs  for  the  next  week's  supplies.  Then 
one  hears  a  Babel  of  dialects  from  nearly  all  the 
provinces  of  Holland. 

There  are  people  who  speak  the  dialects  peculiar 
to  the  fertile  sea-clay  and  marshy  fen  lands  of  South 
and  North  Holland ;  there  are  natives  from  the  archi- 
pelago of  Zeeland,  from  the  beautiful  woodland  and 
meadows  of  Utrecht,  and  others  come  from  the  sand- 
hills of  Gelderland.  Still  others  hail  from  the 
meadows  and  moors  of  Overysel,  from  the  desolate 
wastes  of  fen-land  and  heather-covered  moorland  of 
Drenthe;  and  many  speak  the  droll  dialect  of  the 
agricultural  province  of  Groningen  or  the  language 
of  Friesland.  Pure  Dutch,  when  it  is  heard,  is  a  wel- 
come relief  in  the  midst  of  such  a  jargon  of  tongues. 
Furthermore,  in  conversation  and  in  business  trans- 


328  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

actions  people  adopt  Americanisms  of  common  us- 
age, and  oftentimes  they  alternate  between  English 
and  Dutch.  Indeed,  there  is  no  better  time  than 
Saturday  afternoons  to  observe  that  the  Dutch  lan- 
guage can  not  withstand  the  persistent  inroads  of  the 
English.     (See  Appendix  C.) 

One  still  occasionally  meets  with  old  immigrants 
who  wear  plain  band  earrings  of  silver  or  gold. 
While  wooden-shoes  are  not  worn  in  public,  they  are 
manufactured  for  home  use  in  every  Dutch  com- 
munity :  they  are  a  convenient  accessory  by  the  use 
of  which  every  good  housewife  is  relieved  of  the 
constant  application  of  mop  or  broom,  for  either  in 
town  or  country  they  may  be  stepped  into  as  one 
leaves  the  house,  worn  upon  wet  lawns  or  muddy 
yards,  and  left  at  the  door  upon  returning.  They 
help  to  keep  the  house  "netjes"  (neat). 

Hollanders  take  very  little  interest  in  the  forms 
of  recreation  and  amusement  so  popular  in  American 
towns  and  cities:  they  are  such  poor  patrons  of 
" shows"  of  every  kind  that  traveling  companies 
habitually  pass  them  by  as  unprofitable.  Halls  are 
sometimes  used  for  political  gatherings,  band  con- 
certs, and  lecture  courses  —  for  which  townspeople 
are  with  some  difficulty  induced  to  subscribe.  Skat- 
ing-rinks, moving-picture  shows,  and  dances  at- 
tract the  younger  folks,  but  dancing  is  rarely  in- 
dulged in  because  it  shocks  and  antagonizes  older 
people.  Fourth  of  July  celebrations  among  the  Hol- 
landers do  not  differ  from  the  boisterous  exhibitions 


COMMUNITY  LIFE  329 


so  peculiar  to  America,  but  in  Sioux  County  hun- 
dreds of  people  spend  the  day  together  in  a  quiet 
Christian  way.  Street  fairs,  too,  and  carnivals,  and 
agricultural  and  stock  shows  are  becoming  more 
popular  and  surely  more  easily  accessible  since  au- 
tomobiles have  come  along  to  annihilate  time  and 
space;  but  the  devil-may-care  spirit  of  the  Dutch 
''kermis"  or  annual  fair  in  Holland  is  not  to  be  met 
with  in  Iowa. 

Generally  speaking,  the  old-fashioned  Hollanders 
of  Iowa  do  not  assemble  in  large  numbers  except  for 
religious  or  church  purposes.  As  the  years  pass, 
however,  the  young  people  tend  more  and  more  in 
their  everyday  life  to  adopt  the  ways  of  the  Amer- 
ican public  and  to  break  with  the  orthodox  views  of 
their  elders,  and  thus  exert  a  softening  influence  on 
the  hard  tone  of  community  life;  but  parents  con- 
tinue to  hope  and  pray  that  their  children  will  re- 
tain the  traditional  hardihood,  industry,  frugality, 
thrift,  morality,  and  religion  for  which  the  Holland- 
ers are  famous  as  a  people. 

COUNTRY  LIFE 

The  following  are  the  words  of  an  American  pio- 
neer woman  who  saw  the  Pella  Hollanders  on  the 
road  to  their  lands  in  Marion  County  and  who  knew 
them  as  neighbors  for  nearly  sixty  years.298  What 
she  said  is  true  of  the  great  mass  of  Dutch  immi- 
grants to  Iowa:  since  their  first  harvest  in  the  au- 
tumn of  1848,  when  they  took  pride  in  the  fact  that 
they  kept  their  farms  neater  than  Americans  did, 


330  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

their  chief  contribution  to  the  progress  and  wealth 
of  the  State  has  been  in  the  domain  of  agriculture : 2" 
We  were  prepared  to  think  well  of  this  people,  for  we 
had  heard  only  good  of  their  character.  We  had  been  told 
that  they  were  an  honest,  moral,  industrious.  God-fearing 
people,  and  from  that  time  to  the  present  have  never  heard 
it  disputed.  .  .  .  All  these  Hollanders  had  money,  some 
had  a  good  deal,  and  they  all  seemed  to  know  the  best  way 
to  invest  it.  .  .  .  It  wasn't  long  before  their  superior 
farming  and  gardening  began  to  be  noticed  and  talked 
about,  and  many  slovenly  farmers  were  induced  to  make 
more  out  of  their  rich  lands  through  the  example  of  those 
frugal  and  thrifty  Hollanders.  They  were  not  only  indus- 
trious and  prosperous  but  were  hospitable.  We  used  to 
wonder  at  the  pluck,  the  endurance  and  the  patience  of 
those  people.  .  .  .  They  learned  long  ago  how  to  manage 
the  rich  Iowa  soil  and  their  magnificent  farms  with  commo- 
dious buildings  reach  out  miles  and  miles  in  every  direction 
from  Pella. 

As  an  element  in  the  rural  population  of  Iowa  the 
immigrant  farmers  from  Holland  have  found  that 
the  soil  of  Iowa,  unlike  that  of  their  native  land, 
lends  itself  easily  to  cultivation  on  account  of  its 
looseness  and  lightness,  and  that  by  reason  of  its 
fertility  it  yields  rich  crops  for  a  long  series  of 
years  almost  entirely  without  the  aid  of  fertilizing 
materials.  In  Holland,  as  peasant  laborers  and 
peasant  farmers,  they  were  compelled  to  subject  the 
soil  to  much  careful  and  laborious  attention;  with 
fewer  acres  to  cultivate  they  made  their  little  farms 
bear  two  or  three  crops  each  season.  In  the  father- 
land theirs  was  the  unending  toil  of  men,  but  in 


COMMUNITY  LIFE  331 

Iowa  where  tliey  gather  only  one  crop  annually 
labor  is  less  grinding,  for  from  large  farms  they 
reap  wheat,  oats,  and  barley  which  ripen  with  great 
rapidity,  and  Indian  corn  which  shoots  beyond  the 
need  of  man's  work  in  a  few  weeks'  time. 

In  Holland  where  they  had  steady  work  in  the 
fields,  laborers  were  so  plentiful  and  so  cheap  that 
nearly  all  the  work  was  done  by  hand.  In  America 
the  Hollander  prefers  to  attend  to  his  own  business 
rather  than  another's  and  consequently  farm  ser- 
vants as  a  class  are  scarce.  He  finds  that  Yankee 
ingenuity  and  inventiveness  have  come  to  the  rescue 
of  the  American  farmer :  gangplows,  wide  harrows, 
pulverizers,  seeders,  mowers,  hay-rakes,  binders,  and 
threshing-machines,  and  all  the  other  agricultural 
conveniences  supply  the  place  of  human  hands.  But 
at  the  same  time  many  a  Dutch  woman  reared  on 
Iowa  soil  has  helped  her  father  or  husband  do  gen- 
eral farm  work  during  a  busy  season. 

The  Hollander  farms  on  a  big  scale  even  if  he  is 
not  always  thorough.  Accustomed  to  neatness  and 
economy  in  Holland  he  at  first  shudders  with  horror 
at  the  sight  of  weeds  and  waste  upon  American 
farms ;  but  he  is  soon  hardened,  if  not  reconciled,  to 
such  surroundings,  because  he  discovers  that  they 
are  attendant  upon  American  farm  methods.  If  he 
is  fortunate  enough  to  have  a  large  family  of  sons, 
the  Dutch  farmer  plays  havoc  with  weeds  and  en- 
deavors to  eradicate  all  traces  of  them  from  his 
sight ;  while  in  the  matter  of  wastefulness  he  is,  per- 
haps, not  so  guilty  as  his  American  neighbors.300 


332  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

Intrenched  upon  some  of  the  most  fruitful  land, 
unsurpassed  for  richness  of  soil,  the  Hollanders  of 
Marion  County  and  of  Sioux  County  later  have 
looked  upon  agriculture  as  their  chief  source  of  live- 
lihood, for  success  has  consistently  attended  their 
efforts.  That  the  Dutch  are  among  the  best  farmers 
in  the  State  of  Iowa  and  therefore  in  the  United 
States  can  be  gathered  from  many  years  of  agricul- 
tural history.  In  Sioux  County  where  1440  farmers 
are  foreign-born  and  1275  are  native-born  (Sioux 
County's  northern  neighbor,  Lyon  County,  is  the 
only  other  Iowa  county  where  foreign-born  outnum- 
ber native-born),  the  farmers  of  Dutch  birth  and  an- 
cestry form  a  majority.301  Statistics  of  1910  for  Sioux 
County,  the  most  typical  and  most  prosperous  Dutch 
farming  community  in  America,  reveal  no  less  the 
character  of  Dutch  farmers  in  other  counties  of  Iowa. 

Sioux  County  has  farm  property  including  land, 
buildings,  implements  and  machinery,  domestic  ani- 
mals, poultry  and  bees,  valued  at  nearly  $65,000,000, 
and  in  this  matter  bows  only  to  Pottawattamie 
County  which  has  an  area  one  hundred  square  miles 
larger.  Next  to  Kossuth,  Plymouth,  and  Pottawat- 
tamie counties,  each  of  which  covers  an  area  one- 
eighth  larger,  Sioux  County  contains  the  largest 
number  of  acres  of  improved  land. 

The  farmers  of  Sioux  County  rank  fourth  in 
acres  planted  in  corn  and  tie  for  second  place  in  the 
number  of  bushels  raised ;  fifth  in  acres  of  oats  and 
third  in  bushels  raised ;  and  first  in  acres  planted  in 
barley  and  in  bushels  raised.     They  sow  almost  no 


COMMUNITY  LIFE  333 

winter  wheat  and  rank  fourth  for  spring  wheat. 
Sioux  County  stands  sixth  in  the  number  of  horses, 
sixth  in  the  number  of  cattle,  eighteenth  in  the  num- 
ber of  milk-cows,  third  in  number  of  hogs,  and  thirty- 
eighth  in  poultry. 

As  compared  with  other  counties  of  larger  area, 
Sioux  County  shows  a  wonderful  record  in  agri- 
culture and  stock-raising.  Naturally  well-drained, 
farms  there  require  no  help  from  man ;  indeed,  tile- 
laying  is  more  of  an  industry  among  the  Hollanders 
of  Marion  County.  In  recent  years  Dutch  farmers 
have  learned  that  taking  the  same  crop  from  the 
same  land  without  rest  or  interruption  is  an  exhaus- 
tive and  unwise  policy  to  pursue.  Of  fertilizing  their 
fields  they  formerly  had  little  thought,  but  in  1908 
Sioux  County  farmers,  and  the  Hollanders  especial- 
ly, did  more  to  improve  the  fertility  of  their  soil 
than  the  farmers  of  any  other  county  in  Iowa.  And 
although  the  average  value  of  land  per  acre  in  Sioux 
County  is  from  $100  to  $125,  land  values  among  the 
Hollanders  hover  around  the  $150  and  $200  marks. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  there  is  not  much  land  on  the 
market,  and  rents  are  climbing  higher  and  higher.302 

There  was  a  time  also  when  the  Hollanders  cared 
very  little  about  improving  the  breed  of  horses,  cat- 
tle, and  hogs :  * '  scrubs ' '  were  good  enough.  But  as 
prosperity  increased  and  as  their  knowledge  of 
American  farm  life  grew,  especially  from  visits  to 
county  agricultural  fairs,  there  was  awakened  in 
them  a  desire  to  have  only  blooded  stock.  To-day 
they  think  better  of  raising  horses,  cattle,  and  hogs 


334  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

related  to  the  best  strain  of  imported  and  registered 
breeds.  Fine  herds  of  Durham,  Hereford,  Holstein, 
Friesian,  Shorthorn,  and  other  breeds  of  cattle  are 
not  numerous,  but  are  at  least  aspired  after.  Poland 
China,  Duroc  Jersey,  and  Berkshire  hogs  are  one  of 
the  main  sources  of  revenue.  The  pride  of  the  Dutch 
farmer  is  fine  draft  horses  sired  by  the  best  imported 
Percheron,  Norman,  and  Clydesdale  stallions,  which 
are  usually  bought  and  owned  by  associations  of 
farmers.303 

As  in  Holland,  Dutch  farmers  in  Iowa  show  a 
tendency  to  work  on  old-fashioned  principles  and  to 
neglect  or  even  laugh  at  scientific  farming :  they  are 
inclined  to  be  skeptical  about  modern  improved 
methods,  and  either  have  a  low  opinion  or  none  at  all 
of  the  doctrines  propounded  by  agricultural  theorists 
who  occasionally  lecture  among  them.  On  the  other 
hand,  they  make  up  for  that  handicap  by  being  thor- 
oughly hard-working  and  thrifty.  Their  wives  and 
daughters  are  none  the  less  energetic,  often  working 
in  the  fields ;  while,  generally  speaking,  they  have 
few  of  the  wants  which  so  often  accompany  the  life 
of  Yankee  farmers. 

And  though  there  may  be  lack  of  education 
among  many  of  the  Hollanders,  they  are  by  no  means 
ignorant  men.  Neighbors  are  on  the  best  of  terms 
and  help  one  another  in  the  busy  season.  When  a 
progressive  Hollander  or  American  has  successfully 
experimented  with  some  new  idea,  his  neighbors 
soon  wake  up  to  the  fact  and  are  glad  to  learn  a  prac- 
tical lesson.     They  are  slow  but  sure :  the  value  of 


COMMUNITY  LIFE  335 

the  automobile  to  the  farmer  has  recently  been  dem- 
onstrated to  them,  not  without  result.  It  remains 
to  be  seen  whether  Dutch  farmers  will  invest  in  silos, 
the  latest  farm  novelty.  Sioux  County  could  boast 
of  sixteen  in  1908  and  Marion  County  had  but  one. 
They  had  thirty-nine  and  fourteen,  respectively,  in 
1910.304 

Hollanders  on  the  farms  of  Iowa  have  not  been 
much  given  to  reading* :  they  have  shown  a  lamentable 
backwardness  in  this  respect,  perhaps  because  they 
work  from  early  in  the  morning  till  late  at  night. 
But  whether  they  lacked  the  time  or  the  inclination 
in  past  years,  they  have  begun  to  feel  the  need  of 
such  weeklies  as  The  Homestead,  Wallace's  Farmer, 
The  Farmer's  Tribune,  and  The  Stock-breeder's 
Journal,  as  well  as  of  daily  newspapers  for  the  lat- 
est market  reports.  All  of  these  innovations,  besides 
rural  telephones  and  rural  mail  deliveries  in  both 
Sioux  and  Marion  counties,  have  brought  the  Hol- 
landers into  closer  touch  with  the  world.  Slowly 
but  surely  they  are  installing  the  latest  conveniences 
in  their  houses  and  the  most  practical  mechanical 
appliances  upon  their  farms,  but  they  never  lose 
sight  of  their  motto  to  buy  land,  keep  it,  and  treat  it 
well. 

The  Hollander  can  not  be  said  to  belong  to  that 
class  of  people  who  live  beyond  their  means,  but  he 
is,  on  the  contrary,  an  extremely  conservative 
spender  and  investor.  As  his  wealth  accumulates 
he  becomes  more  willing  to  incur  occasional  expense 
for  this  or  that  luxury,  but  the  element  of  specula- 


336  THE  HOLLANDERS  OP  IOWA 

tion  for  the  sake  of  increased  returns  does  not  lure 
him  to  adopt  all  the  up-to-date  methods  of  his  wide- 
awake progressive  American  neighbors.  At  the  end 
of  the  year,  however,  the  Dutch  farmer  can  point  to 
a  comfortable  margin  in  his  favor,  even  if  he  has  not 
enjoyed  all  the  comforts  of  his  Yankee  brothers. 
Such  is  the  thrift  of  Hollanders  that  ninety-five  per 
cent  of  the  chattel  mortgages  in  Marion  County 
cover  property  owned  by  farmers  south  of  the  Des 
Moines  River  where  comparatively  few  Hollanders 
live.  Such  is  their  honesty  that  the  banks  of  Pella 
have  more  unsecured  notes  than  any  other  banks  in 
Iowa.305 

Judging  from  their  past  and  present  enthusiasm 
for  agriculture  the  Hollanders  of  Iowa  will  not  soon 
desert  their  farms.  Immigrants  from  Holland  are 
willing  to  work  harder  in  America  because  they  can 
find  financial  contentment  sooner,  while  the  sons  of 
immigrants  are  convinced  that  farming  is  on  the 
whole  a  very  satisfactory  occupation,  even  if  not  al- 
ways pleasant.  Like  the  Scandinavians  and  the  Ger- 
mans of  Iowa,  the  Hollanders  are  sons  of  the  soil 
with  inexhaustible  patience  and  a  willingness  to  take 
pains;  and  as  perhaps  no  other  foreigners  in  the 
United  States  they  exemplify  the  truth  of  the  asser- 
tion that  northern  Europeans  will  be  able  to  take 
care  of  America's  farms  in  the  future:  they  are 
workers,  plodders,  savers;  and  they  know  how  to 
make  farms  pay. 


APPENDICES 


APPENDIX  A 

Letter  from  Hendrik  Barendregt  to  H.  P.  Scholte 

Those  portions  of  Barendregt 's  letter  to  Rev.  H. 
P.  Scholte  which  depicted  conditions  in  the  Missis- 
sippi Valley  in  1846  and  informed  oncoming  Dutch 
emigrants  as  to  matters  connected  with  the  voyage 
to  America  deserve  to  be  translated  and  preserved 
as  an  interesting  picture  of  the  times.  Copious  ex- 
tracts follow: 

As  we  entered  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  on  the  14th  of  No- 
vember, the  wind  changed  so  that  we  sailed  before  it  and  on 
the  18th  we  could  see  the  low  shores  of  the  New  World. 
We  were  pulled  along  farther  by  a  steam  tug  which  tows 
vessels  up  the  Mississippi,  no  matter  how  the  wind  blows, 
and  at  7  a.  m.  we  arrived  at  New  Orleans.  The  Lord  had 
surely  helped  us.  Although  we  came  by  a  round-about  way, 
we  completed  the  voyage  from  Holland  to  New  Orleans  in 
45  days.  We  had  five  deaths  and  three  births  —  all  Ger- 
mans. 

To  be  brief  I  shall  not  write  too  much  of  what  we  saw 
upon  the  Mississippi,  only  something  of  New  Orleans :  this 
is  a  very  large  and  extensive  city ;  everything  seems  to  be 
but  just  begun,  and  one  sees  hundreds  of  houses  rising  up 
everywhere;  all  is  bustle,  unusually  so  on  account  of  the 
rattle  and  rumble  of  wagons  and  carts.  Six  hundred  ocean 
ships  lie  alongside  the  wharves  three  by  three,  also  a  large 
number  of  steamboats,  mostly  very  big  for  their  kind  but  of 

339 


340  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

construction  entirely  different  from  that  of  boats  in  Hol- 
land. They  say  that  1300  of  these  are  engaged  upon  the 
^Mississippi,  and  I  can  easily  believe  it  judging  from  all  the 
hustle  and  hurry.  Sailing  vessels  one  does  not  see;  they 
can  not  be  used  since  the  river  channel  is  very  crooked  and 
the  wind  can  never  blow  in  such  a  way  as  to  allow  ships  to 
make  headway.  The  stream  flows  constantly  and  the  river 
banks  are  covered  with  trees  so  that  neither  horses  nor 
human  beings  can  draw  a  ship.  Then  too,  distances  are  so 
long  that  10  or  12  hours  is  a  mere  trifle.  From  New  Or- 
leans to  St.  Louis  is  1200  or  1300  English  miles.  Shipping 
as  in  Holland  is  therefore  impracticable. 

Arriving  at  New  Orleans  in  the  morning,  that  same  day 
we  took  a  steamboat  to  carry  us  up  the  river.  The  fare  was 
$2.50  or  one  half  for  children  under  nine  years  of  age, 
while  each  person  had  100  pounds  of  baggage  free,  and  for 
additional  freight  one  had  to  pay  25  cents  per  hundred 
pounds.    We  paid  some  money  down  before  starting. 

The  following  will  serve  as  a  bit  of  information :  before 
a  ship  arrives  at  New  Orleans,  a  customs  officer  comes  on 
board.  He  makes  out  a  list  of  the  families  and  the  number 
of  people  composing  them  as  well  as  the  number  of  trunks 
and  fire-arms.  I  advise  everyone  to  answer  his  questions 
accurately,  not  to  conceal  anything  as  the  expense  is  the 
same  whether  one  has  six  or  twelve  trunks. 

He  only  wishes  to  know  what  every  immigrant  has. 
One  receives  two  blank  papers  —  these  one  must  get  filled 
out  in  the  toll-house,  as  the  office  is  called,  the  sooner  the 
better.  The  officer  has  the  right  to  demand  50  American 
cents  for  the  two  papers;  but  he  may  also  give  them  free 
of  cost  and  so  one  can  try  to  get  them  for  less  money  —  the 
poor  now  and  then  excite  pity.  At  the  time  of  signing  one 
pays  20  cents  more  for  the  two  papers.    I  write  this  because 


APPENDIX  A  341 


some  imagine  that  all  this  is  unnecessary  graft,  but  this  is 
really  not  so,  for  the  officer  who  superintends  the  inspection 
of  one's  property  lets  nothing  pass  for  which  one  does  not 
have  papers.  One  must  also  make  out  a  paper  and  have  it 
signed  by  the  captain,  wherein  is  receipted  the  amount  of 
money  paid  down  for  freight  upon  the  steamboat. 

The  river  steamboats  all  lie  at  the  wharves,  with  sign- 
boards which  bear  the  date  of  departure  and  the  destination. 
One  goes  aboard  and  usually  finds  the  captain,  with  whom 
one  makes  the  contract.  .  .  .  Everywhere  there  are  inter- 
preters who  desire  to  be  of  service  to  you  at  all  times ;  these 
are  unnecessary  if  you  have  with  you  a  person  who  speaks 
English ;  if  among  your  company  no  one  can  be  found  who 
has  a  command  of  this  language,  as  was  the  case  with  us,  it  is 
best  to  employ  them,  but  always  with  caution,  because  some 
of  them  are  grafters.  We  were  fortunate  to  get  a  reason- 
ably good  man. 

This  too  is  a  serious  matter :  everywhere  along  our  route 
people  try  to  reduce  the  value  of  our  gold  money  and  also 
the  five-franc  pieces,  and  here  a  gold  piece  is  worth  about 
four  dollars;  as  to  the  five-franc  pieces  I  have  had  no  ex- 
perience. 

This  also  is  good  advice:  "Know  the  Lord  in  all  thy 
ways."  The  application  which  we  have  made  of  this  is 
broad.  Think  of  it:  the  steamboat  which  we  visited  first 
with  our  interpreter  and  which  asked  a  three-dollar  fare, 
departed  a  short  while  before  we  did,  and  when  we  overtook 
her  three  days  later,  we  learned  that  she  had  collided  with 
another  boat  in  the  midst  of  a  thick  fog,  had  burst  a  boiler, 
and  sunk  so  that  forty-five  passengers  lost  their  lives !  We 
saved  the  crew  and  a  few  others  from  the  wreck  and  put 
them  ashore  at  the  first  town.  That  we  did  not  take  passage 
on  the  steamboat  is  not  to  be  ascribed  to  our  wisdom,  be- 


342  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

cause  the  fare  demanded  was  not  at  all  extortionate ;  be- 
sides, she  appeared  to  be  a  good  boat,  while  ours  was  much 
older  and  weaker;  we  also  learned  that  she  was  very  slow; 
in  short,  that  we  did  not  choose  the  unfortunate  boat  was 
the  Lord 's  work :  let  Him  be  thanked  and  praised. 

We  finished  the  trip  from  New  Orleans  to  St.  Louis  in 
nine  days.  Along  this  river  from  beginning  to  end  are 
wooded  banks.  Never  would  I  have  imagined  that  there  was 
still  so  much  apparently  quite  useless  timber  in  the  world ; 
and  now  I  can  very  readily  believe  that  I  have  seen  but  a 
small  portion  of  America,  as  here  and  there  one  perceives 
the  beginning  or  laying  out  of  a  city.  At  first  one  sees 
sugar  cane,  further  on  cotton,  and  then,  through  openings 
in  the  timber,  fields  of  maize ;  furthermore  the  river  is  filled 
with  floating  logs  which  are  everywhere  sent  adrift  along 
the  banks. 

Here  at  St.  Louis  there  is  much  industry;  1300  new 
buildings  are  being  constructed,  500  were  completed  this 
past  summer,  and  everything  seems  to  be  but  just  begun. 
They  say  that  the  city  is  three  hours  long ;  this  strikes  me  as 
rather  exaggerated,  but  I  have  no  good  reason  to  doubt  it. 
Two  of  our  brethren  tried  to  see  the  city  from  one  end  to 
the  other ;  but  as  it  took  so  long,  they  got  tired  and  turned 
back. 

The  incoming  and  outgoing  steamboats  are  also  very 
numerous  here.  Everything  is  conveyed  across  the  city  here 
and  at  New  Orleans  by  means  of  horses,  mules,  or  oxen, 
of  which  one  sometimes  sees  as  many  as  twelve  but  usually 
eight  drawing  a  wagon.  Cattle  are  butchered,  quartered, 
and  piled  on  carts. 

Everything  comes  to  market:  vegetables,  apples,  po- 
tatoes, mutton,  fish  of  all  sorts;  but  nothing  can  be  called 
cheap,  except  bread,  meal  or  flour,  meat  and  pork:  these 


APPENDIX  A  343 


alone  are  to  be  classed  among  cheap  articles  in  America. 
And  although  there  is  so  much  timber,  if  one  has  to  buy- 
firewood,  he  has  to  pay  a  big  price. 

Here  winter  set  in  just  as  we  arrived.  Everything  is 
snowed  under,  and  just  now  it  is  freezing  besides,  but  not 
severely.  The  journey  to  Iowa  or  Wisconsin  we  cannot  con- 
tinue because  the  river  is  too  low  for  steamboat  travel.  But 
this  we  don't  consider  necessary  since  we  have  met  with 
several  brothers  from  Winterswijk,  of  whom  two  had  just 
been  to  Iowa  shortly  before  our  arrival.  Besides,  there  are 
German  brethren  here,  Methodists,  who  are  acquainted  with 
all  conditions,  have  shown  us  much  friendliness  and  willing- 
ness to  help,  and  have  undertaken  to  answer  the  questions 
which  you  gave  me  to  prompt  my  investigations.  Enclosed 
is  a  letter  by  one  of  them  in  the  German  language.  So 
much  of  it  as  he  read  to  me,  I  can  best  guarantee  to  be  the 
exact  truth. 

The  following  will  serve  to  explain  matters : 

1.  Land  along  the  rivers  is  everywhere  in  the  hands  of 
speculators,  from  whom  it  is  still  to  be  obtained  at  an  in- 
creased price. 

2.  Stock  is  not  so  expensive.  For  $10  one  can  buy  a 
good  cow  with  calf.  Also,  Jan  Schaap  and  I  saw  a  horse 
which  looked  sound  and  fast,  for  which  not  more  than  $15 
was  offered. 

3.  Bricks  are  large,  almost  like  the  red  bricks  of  Hol- 
land but  they  are  not  baked  hard,  hence  not  of  the  best  qual- 
ity. Lime  is  fairly  good,  20  cents  per  bushel  which  is 
equivalent  to  50  cents  for  25  pounds  in  The  Netherlands. 

4.  I  myself  have  bought  good  fat  meat  for  two  cents 
and  pork  for  2*4  cents  per  pound.  As  to  the  weight,  I  be- 
lieve the  pound  here  is  less  than  the  pound  of  five  ounces  in 
Holland. 


344  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

5.     Feathers  are  very  good  at  25  cents  per  pound. 

If  you  abide  by  your  decision  to  settle  in  North  America, 
then  the  following  will  also  serve  to  inform  you : 

First:  Every  land-buyer  who  wants  to  cultivate  land 
of  his  own  must  above  all  manage  to  bring  his  laborers  with 
him  from  Holland,  if  he  thinks  he  will  need  help. 

Secondly:  The  cost  of  living  will  be  moderate  before 
one  gets  a  crop;  bread  and  meat  and  pork  are  necessities 
and  they  are  cheap  here ;  for  clothing,  house-rent,  and  fire- 
wood one  need  have  no  anxiety. 

Thirdly :  For  those  who  are  good  makers  of  butter  and 
cheese  prospects  are  certainly  fine,  because  these  products 
are  bad  in  the  market  here.  As  to  dairy  appliances  it  will 
be  well  to  take  along  as  many  as  possible,  especially  what 
can  be  packed  into  boxes.  On  shipboard  one  needs  pay  no 
more  for  them  and  steamboat  freight  is  only  25  cents  per 
hundred  pounds.  Everything  is  obtainable  here,  but  gener- 
ally expensive.  I  give  the  same  advice  as  to  all  tools  and 
implements,  for  example  those  needed  for  agriculture  and 
all  sorts  of  trades ;  yet  I  should  certainly  not  advise  you  to 
buy  anything  new  in  Holland  to  take  with  you,  since  the 
difference  in  price  is  not  large  enough.  Besides  there  is 
much  difference  in  tools  and  not  everyone  must  expect  to  be 
able  to  remain  a  Hollander  if  he  comes  to  live  in  America ; 
ways  and  manners  should  be  followed  here.  My  meaning  is 
that  he  who  has  tools  should  not  throw  them  away  for  a 
trifle,  especially  not  if  they  are  still  good ;  but  to  take  trash 
along  to  America  is  always  nonsense. 

I  may  also  add  that  everyone  should  take  his  best  table- 
ware if  it  is  not  too  easily  broken ;  if  it  is  well  packed  be- 
tween clothing  in  boxes  full  to  the  cover,  one  can  easily 
keep  it  whole ;  our  things  thus  far  are  pretty  well  preserved 
despite  the  fact  that  our  boxes  are  sometimes  rolled  along 


APPENDIX  A  345 


like  barrels.  Thus  anyone  can  well  understand  that  boxes 
should  be  particularly  strong;  for  I  have  seen  many 
smashed  and  then  much  hard  treatment  of  the  contents; 
also,  the  boxes  must  not  be  too  big,  for  in  that  event  they 
are  handled  more  harshly  still. 

Further  I  shall  give  some  advice  relative  to  food-stuff 
and  household  articles : 

There  should  be  160  pounds  for  each  person,  distributed 
as  follows:  10  pounds  of  bacon,  reasonably  thick,  for  mak- 
ing pan-cakes ;  10  pounds  of  ham  to  eat  with  bread,  etc. ; 
10  pounds  of  meat;  20  pounds  of  rice,  which  costs  nearly 
the  same  here ;  20  pounds  of  flour,  which  should  all  be  used 
up ;  15  pounds  of  potatoes ;  20  pounds  of  green  peas,  of  the 
best  quality;  if  one  can  save  these,  they  can  be  used  as  seed, 
as  I  have  seen  only  poor  ones  here  and  expensive  ones  at 
that;  20  pounds  of  capuchin  peas;  30  pounds  of  the  best 
bread  cut  into  slices  and  well  dried ;  5  pounds  of  ordinary 
rusks. 

Further  it  is  well  and  useful  to  bring  a  quantity  of 
headcheese,  besides  butter,  cheese,  loaf-sugar,  prunes,  and 
everything  one  can  eat  without  cooking,  sweet  cake,  various 
drinks,  wine,  brandy,  Rhine  wine,  gin,  vinegar,  salt,  mus- 
tard, pepper,  coffee,  tea,  as  well  as  some  household  remedies 
for  illness,  for  the  Americans  have  no  doctor  on  board,  and 
so  everyone  takes  care  of  himself. 

The  household  utensils  consist  of  tea-kettle,  copper  or 
iron  cooking-pot,  tin  pan,  tin-plates  from  which  to  eat, 
since  passengers  can  seldom  sit  together  regularly,  tin  water- 
cans  or  kegs,  etc.  If  a  person  must  go  singly,  I  advise  him 
to  cooperate  with  six  or  eight  others,  or  else  the  company 
will  be  too  large,  and  differences  of  opinion  are  likely  to 
arise. 


346  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

Further,  I  must  say  that  the  carriers  here  treat  people 
variously;  they  appear  to  deduct  as  much  as  possible. 
Among  us  there  were  some  who  paid  from  30  to  35  florins 
[$12  to  $14] ,  and  we  had  to  pay  45  florins.  There  were  also 
some  on  board  our  ship  who  were  offered  transportation  on 
a  good  ship  at  35  florins  if  their  families  wanted  to  take 
advantage  of  the  offer  in  the  spring. 

I  do  not  exactly  know  whether  to  advise  people  to  come 
by  way  of  New  York  or  New  Orleans ;  but  this  I  know,  that 
if  one  sails  from  Holland  after  the  month  of  February,  the 
journey  by  way  of  New  Orleans  is  too  hot ;  in  that  case  I 
prefer  New  York;  one  should  take  into  consideration  the 
increased  expense  and  trouble  involved  in  taking  a  land 
journey;  but  if  one  can  depart  before  or  during  the  month 
of  February,  come  to  New  Orleans,  because  that  means  a 
saving  of  trouble  and  expense. 

It  also  makes  a  great  deal  of  difference  where  one  ex- 
pects to  settle.  If  Iowa  is  the  place,  the  journey  by  way  of 
New  York  is  more  difficult,  as  one  must  in  all  events  go  to 
Milwaukee  first  and  from  there  back  to  Iowa,  which  is  not 
necessary  if  one  comes  by  way  of  New  Orleans ;  for  then  one 
can  easily  get  to  Iowa  by  steamboat.  In  all  cases  it  is  best 
for  those  who  undoubtedly  intend  to  settle  in  this  region 
to  come  to  St.  Louis,  whence  it  is  so  easy  to  depart  in  all 
directions. 

As  to  the  climate,  I  understand  it  is  much  too  warm  for 
us  here  in  the  summer;  for  it  happens  that  a  laborer  who 
chops  wood  or  unloads  wood  from  ships  is  offered  three 
dollars  a  day  in  summer,  and  now  can  get  only  50  or  75 
cents.  Iowa,  I  hear,  is  a  good  ways  north  and  therefore 
much  colder. 

All  sorts  of  products  are  raised  here :  maize,  wheat,  rye, 


APPENDIX  A  347 


oats,  beans,  etc.  As  for  cabbage  seed,  it  is  hardly  to  be 
found ;  since  lard  is  cheap  here,  there  is  not  much  need  of 
cabbage-seed  oil.  The  prices  of  grain  are  not  high  —  there 
is  reason  for  this,  but  then  we  should  have  to  enter  into  a 
discussion  of  several  matters,  viz.,  the  yield  of  the  land, 
labor,  cost  of  planting,  sowing,  etc.  But  I  am  not  well 
enough  acquainted  with  the  facts  to  speak  about  the  matter, 
and  there  is  little  or  no  need  to  do  so ;  if  for  example  T  give 
a  price,  a  person  in  Holland  will  prepare  at  once  to  make 
comparisons  and  figure  according  to  Dutch  standards.  .  .  . 
Experience  will  be  the  best  teacher  here. 

As  for  the  worship  of  God :  one  finds  really  God-fearing 
people  among  the  Germans  and  also  among  the  English; 
indeed  there  are  many  Christian  negroes  here.  We  find  the 
Germans  very  friendly ;  but  we  do  not  harmonize  in  every- 
thing. The  Sabbath  is  reasonably  respected.  One  finds  no 
shocking  immorality  here,  as  in  Rotterdam  or  other  cities 
of  Holland. 

As  for  the  schools,  you  know  they  are  free  here ;  usu- 
ally there  is  a  school  with  every  church.  I  am  not  yet  well 
enough  informed  so  as  to  give  a  good  account  of  the  school 
system.  Sunday-schools  are  numerous  here,  and  one  can  get 
free  instruction:  these  are  also  good  to  enable  us  to  learn 
a  little  of  the  English  language.  He  who  knows  English 
well  possesses  riches,  if  he  comes  here,  from  Holland.  I 
cannot  therefore  enough  urge  everyone  by  all  means  to 
learn  the  English  language. 

I  have  nothing  special  which  I  consider  necessary  to 
add.  My  request  is  that  you  be  so  good  as  to  publish  this 
letter  so  far  as  you  are  able,  likewise  to  see  to  it  that  brother 

van  jj of  R be  informed  at  an  early  date.     Tell 

him  that  as  baker  he  could  more  easily  be  lord  in  St.  Louis 


348  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

than  citizen  in  Rotterdam.  Also  K ,  who  put  me  many- 
questions  which  are  answered  herein ;  also  Mr.  Jansdam,  etc. 

Respectfully  and  affectionately,  yours  in  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ.  Hend'k  Barendregt. 

N.  B.  Be  sure  to  greet  brother  Betten.  Of  the  letter 
written  by  Brummelkamp  and  van  Raalte  to  procure  finan- 
cial aid  for  the  worthy  poor,  we  here  are  not  informed. 
Nor  do  we  know  anything  of  van  Raalte  and  those  who 
sailed  with  him. 


APPENDIX  B 

The  Attitude  of  the  Hollanders  of  Iowa  During 
the  Boer  War 

During  the  closing  months  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury England  had  no  enemies  fiercer  than  the  Hol- 
landers of  Iowa.  They  manifested  a  vital  concern  in 
the  outcome  of  differences  between  Boers  and  Brit- 
ons and  contemplated  every  event  in  South  Africa 
with  feelings  of  intensest  partisanship:  never  were 
newspapers  more  in  demand,  never  were  campaigns 
followed  with  keener  interest,  and  never  did  victo- 
ries call  forth  more  genuine  exclamations  of  triumph. 

Recalling  the  Jameson  Raid  and  the  role  played 
by  Cecil  Rhodes,  "a  great  bandit",  in  South  African 
affairs,  and  seeing  how  British  aggression  was  grad- 
ually forcing  the  Boers  into  an  unequal  contest,  the 
Hollanders  were  roused  from  their  accustomed 
lethargy  to  vehement  expressions  of  indignation. 
They  interpreted  events  in  South  Africa  as  a  veri- 
table call  to  arms  to  all  Hollanders  who  loved  jus- 
tice. Furthermore,  did  not  they  and  the  Boers 
spring  from  the  same  fatherland  and  speak  the  same 
language  ? 

Those  who  advocated  the  principles  of  the  Demo- 
cratic party  were  not  the  only  Hollanders  who  insist- 
ed that  President  McKinley  should  intermeddle  in 

349 


350  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

Boer-British  affairs.  When  matters  were  reaching 
a  crisis  the  Eepublican  administration  called  forth 
more  and  more  criticism  and  abuse  for  its  policy  of 
neutrality,  and  when  war  finally  broke  out  McKinley 
and  all  Bepublicans  were  loudly  accused  of  hostility 
towards  the  Transvaal. 

No  Dutch  newspaper  in  Iowa  gave  more  radical 
expression  to  its  anti-Kepublican  and  anti-British 
feeling  than  Be  Vrije  Hollander  of  Orange  City. 
Van  Oosterhout  played  upon  the  heart-strings  of  his 
readers.  Patriotic  Hollanders  were  reminded  that 
the  Boers  were  forced  to  fight  for  their  freedom  and 
their  hearths  against  the  mightiest  country  in  the 
world ;  all  Hollanders  were  urged  to  show  their  sym- 
pathy for  that  heroic  people.  ' '  Let  our  Dutch  news- 
papers declare  themselves  on  this  matter ;  let  us  call 
meetings;  let  us  prepare  subscriptions",  declared 
the  editor,  "and  let  us  show  that  we  are  with  the 
Boers  in  their  struggle  heart  and  soul,  let  us  help 
their  widows  and  orphans  —  this  is  better  than  reso- 
lutions and  telegrams. ' ' 

On  the  15th  of  November,  1899,  the  first  Trans- 
vaal meeting  was  held  in  Sioux  County.  Several 
ministers  of  Dutch  churches  took  a  prominent  part, 
and  a  fund  for  Boer  orphans  and  widows  was  at 
once  started.  Heading  the  list  with  a  donation  of 
$50,  Be  Vrije  Hollander  for  over  two  years  contained 
weekly  reports  of  the  donors  and  the  amounts  of 
their  gifts.306 

On  December  1, 1899,  there  was  published  the  fol- 
lowing appeal : 307 


APPENDIX  B  351 


From 

The  Land  of  the  Free 

and  the  Home  of  the  Brave, 
far  down  in  South  Africa,  comes  no  wailing,  comes  no  cry 
for  help  or  assistance. 

Yet  in 

The  Land  of  the  Free 

and  the  Home  of  the  Brave, 
in  the  western  hemisphere,  we  hear  by  the  mysterious  elec- 
tric fluid  the  reverberations  of  the  death-dealing  thunder 
of  England's  mighty  liddyte  guns,  of  the  incessant  crack- 
ling of  the  never-missing  mausers  of  the  Boers. 

Americans,  who  always  loved  liberty,  who  always  sym- 
pathised with  the  oppressed,  who  always  abhorred  tyranny, 
more  so  when  under  the  cloak  of  hypocrisy,  cannot  blame 
their  co-citizens  of  Holland  origin,  if  their  hearts  throb, 
and  an  enthusiastic  joy,  strange  to  their  phlegmatic  tem- 
perament, makes  every  nerve  thrill,  when  they  see  two  small 
republics,  of  the  same  stock,  the  same  flesh  and  blood  as 
their  own,  dare  to  stand  up  for  freedom  and  independence 
against  the  Colossus  of  our  times. 

Never  did  Spartans,  never  did  Romans  in  their  best 
days,  show  greater  courage,  loftier  determination  to  live  or 
die  free  men,  than  did  the  three  hundred  thousand  Trans- 
vaalers  and  Free  Staters,  when  they  took  up  the  gauntlet 
of  perfidious  Albion  with  its  more  than  300  million  sub- 
jects ! 

And  our  sympathy  goes  out  to  the  manly  Americans 
who  blushing  say:  "This  is  the  first  time  in  our  history, 
that  our  government  stands  listlessly  by,  when  a  big  bully 
tries  to  choke  freedom  and  tramples  on  a  weaker  nation; 
this  is  the  first  time  that  our  administration  stands  as  Saul, 


352  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

guarding  the  clothes  of  those  that  stoned  Stephen  and  ap- 
proving their  deed. ' ' 

Yes,  we  sympathise  with  them,  and  the  world  will  not 
hold  them  responsible  for  the  acts  and  sympathies  of  a 
president  and  his  cabinet,  who  departed  from  the  old  and 
glorious  traditions,  that  made  America  the  guiding  star  of 
the  lovers  of  freedom,  the  hope  of  the  oppressed. 

Therefore  we,  your  Holland  co-citizens,  call  on  all  you 
that  love  freedom,  that  detest  the  oppression  of  the  weak 
by  the  strong  and  say  to  you :  ' '  Those  little  republics  have 
found  the  bottom  of  their  treasury;  the  London  money- 
market  will  not  give  them  credit ;  they  will  have  thousands 
of  maimed  and  crippled  for  life,  thousands  of  widows  and 
orphans.  They  have  not  the  unbounded  credit  of  our  na- 
tion, not  the  immense  resources  of  the  first  republic  that 
wrested  her  freedom  from  England's  grasp,  and  yet  those 
thousands  must  be  cared  for,  may  not  —  by  God  Almighty's 
help  —  be  beggars  and  outcasts. ' ' 

Holland  and  Belgium,  France  and  Germany,  and  even 
Russia  are  collecting  funds  for  the  Red  Cross  and  for  kin- 
dred purposes. 

Shall  Americans  stand  idly  by,  shall  we  be  niggards, 
shall  we,  to  please  our  friend,  the  grasping,  grinding, 
greedy  Briton,  refuse  to  lend  our  aid  to  heroes  whose  su- 
periors the  world  did  never  see? 

God  forbid ! 

Therefore  we,  your  Holland  co-citizens,  remembering 
how  magnanimously  you  came  to  the  rescue  when  want  and 
famine  reigned  in  Russia  or  India,  ask  you  to  contribute 
something  for  the  heroic  Transvaalers  and  Free  Staters 
for  their  widows  and  their  orphans. 

The  mite  of  the  poorest  is  as  welcome  as  the  greater 
gifts  of  the  rich. 


APPENDIX  B  353 


Therefore  we  wish  to  give  all  those  that  sympathise  with 
the  Boers  occasion  to  donate  something  for: 

The  crippled,  the  widows  and  orphans  of  the  Transvaal 
and  Orange  Free  State. 

The  undersigned  have  formed  a  committee  to  receive 
the  money,  collected  in  this  way,  and  will  send  same  to  the 
representative  of  the  Transvaal,  residing  in  Brussels,  and 
send  his  receipts  to  the  different  papers  who  may  send  us 
their  contribution. 

Not  doubting  a  generous  response,  we  are,  respectfully, 

Hon.  II.  Hospers,  State  Senator,  Orange  City,  Pres. 

M.  P.  van  Oosterhout,  Ed.  Be  Vrije  Hollander,  Orange 
City,  Sec. 

Hon.  A.  W.  van  Wagenen,  Ex-District  Judge,  Sioux 
City. 

John  Nollen,  Cashier  First  National  Bank,  Pella. 

J.  H.  Stubenrauch,  Pella. 

P.  D.  van  Oosterhout,  County  Attorney,  Orange  City. 
Orange  City,  Iowa,  November  27,  1899. 

The  Hollanders  gave  way  to  unbounded  excite- 
ment and  pleasure  when  news  of  Boer  successes 
reached  them.  At  Pella  the  Dutch  newspapers  pub- 
lished all  the  latest  despatches  from  the  front,  and 
the  post-office  was  kept  open  until  a  late  hour  at 
night  so  that  citizens  might  get  mail  brought  by  the 
last  evening  trains.  Ministers  spoke  at  all  the  Boer 
meetings  in  the  neighborhood.  Pella' s  Nieuwsblad 
posted  bulletins.  Everywhere  the  Hollanders  in 
Iowa  welcomed  the  reports  of  British  disasters :  al- 
though they  could  not  expect  a  handful  of  people  to 
prevail  against  such  overwhelming  odds,  the  Hoi- 


354  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

landers  rejoiced  in  months  of  British  reverses  and 
wished  English  armies  nothing  but  confusion.308 

The  Sioux  City  Journal  made  the  sensational  an- 
nouncement that  the  business  men  of  Alton,  Maurice, 
Ireton,  Le  Mars,  and  Fort  Dodge  had  collected 
$25,000  to  send  two  companies  of  fifty  men  each  to 
the  Transvaal  to  help  the  Boers,  provided  the  Fed- 
eral authorities  could  be  outwitted.  It  was  reported 
that  this  filibustering  party  had  been  organized  under 
the  command  of  a  member  of  the  First  Regiment  of 
Illinois  Volunteers  and  of  veterans  of  the  Cuban 
and  Philippine  war;  and  that  the  men  drilled  after 
dark  outside  the  town  of  Orange  City. 

Equally  untrue  statements  appeared  in  corre- 
spondence from  Sioux  Center  to  the  Chicago  Times- 
Herald  published  under  the  following  headlines :  *  'A 
Whole  Regiment.  Hundreds  Leave  Sioux  County 
for  the  Transvaal  to  Help  the  Boers."  It  was  re- 
ported that  these  adventurers  intended  to  proceed 
to  the  field  of  war  by  threes  and  fours  by  various 
routes  in  order  to  escape  the  vigilance  of  the  United 
States  authorities.  The  fact  that  numerous  young 
men  who  had  talked  of  serving  in  the  Boer  army 
disappeared  suddenly  without  leaving  word  behind 
lent  color  to  the  rumor  that  they  had  started  on 
the  journey:  their  relatives,  it  was  said,  felt  no  un- 
easiness at  their  absence,  which  obviously  would  not 
be  the  case  if  they  were  ignorant  of  all  the  facts.309 

Money  poured  into  the  treasury  of  the  Iowa 
Transvaal  Committee  from  the  Hollanders  of  Minne- 
sota, Nebraska,  the  Dakotas,  and  from  all  the  Dutch 


APPENDIX  B  355 


communities  in  Iowa,  as  well  as  from  such  towns  as 
Sioux  City  and  Iowa  City.  Governor  John  Lind  of 
Minnesota  sent  $10,  together  with  a  letter  in  which 
he  declared  that  the  war  was  due  principally  to  Cecil 
Rhodes 's  press  bureau,  his  tremendous  capital, 
powerful  influence,  etc.  Within  four  months  the 
Committee  forwarded  $1,000  to  Dr.  Leyds  at  Brus- 
sels and  $300  to  Amsterdam.310 

Merchants  among  the  Hollanders  advertised 
"Transvaal  Days"  to  be  held  in  their  stores:  for 
several  weeks  a  druggist  whose  advertisement  in 
large  type  began  with  "Hoera  voor  Transvaal!" 
promised  to  donate  5%  of  his  sales  on  Saturdays  to 
the  Boer  cause.  All  good  Hollanders  wore  "Oom 
Paul"  buttons  on  their  coat  lapels,  and  many  a  child 
born  during  those  stirring  months  was  named  after 
Paul  Kruger,  Piet  Joubert,  Piet  Cronje  and  other 
Boer  generals.311 

On  the  2nd  day  of  January,  1900,  the  following 
resolutions  were  spread  upon  the  minutes  of  the  city 
council  of  Pella : 

Whereas,  The  cause  of  human  liberty,  as  exemplified 
by  those  who  are  now  so  valiantly  defending  their  homes  in 
the  sister  republics  in  South  Africa  is  one  that  appeals 
strongly  to  American  citizens,  who  wrested  the  precious 
boon  of  self-government  from  the  self  same  ruthless  in- 
vaders, and  who  now  attempt  to  assimilate  the  inhabitants 
of  those  countries,  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  we  believe  the  cause  of  the  Transvaal 
and  Orange  Free  State  to  be  one  of  justice  and  right  as 
against  the  encroachment  of  the  avaricious  British  intruder. 


356  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

We  heartily  rejoice  in  the  success  which  has  so  far  crowned 
the  efforts  of  its  defenders,  and  we  sincerely  hope  and  trust 
that  with  the  help  from  on  High  complete  victory  may  fol- 
low, and  that  the  soil  of  South  Africa  may  soon  become  too 
hot  for  the  oppressor  and  that  in  humiliation  and  disgrace 
he  may  be  driven  hence. 

Resolved,  That  we  acknowledge  with  unbounded  satis- 
faction and  delight  the  course  Senator  Mason  of  Illinois  has 
pursued,  in  his  eloquent  pleading  in  a  speech  before  the 
Senate  of  the  United  States  in  favor  of  the  righteous  cause 
of  the  Boers,  and  we  urge  him  to  continue  the  good  work, 
and  thus  assist  in  developing  a  hearty  and  intelligent  senti- 
ment in  regard  to  this  important  question  of  public  policy 
and  the  attitude  that  the  United  States  should  pursue  in 
the  premises. 

Resolved,  That  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  forwarded 
to  Presidents  Kruger  and  Steyn,  Hon.  W.  E.  Mason  and 
our  Senators  and  Representatives  in  Congress  and  to  such 
others  as  may  be  deemed  necessary. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  Reuvers  to  adopt  said  Resolution  a 
roll  call  was  ordered  which  resulted  as  follows:  Reuvers, 
van  der  Sluis,  Maasdam,  van  Zante,  van  Nimwegen,  Worm- 
houdt  and  Kruger  voted  aye  (7),  Fisk  being  absent. 

A  few  days  later  similar  resolutions  were  adopt- 
ed by  the  city  council  of  Orange  City  as  follows  :312 

Whereas  the  South  African  Republics,  Transvaal  and 
Orange  Free  State,  have  been  forced  into  a  war  of  self  de- 
fence and  for  their  very  existence  by  the  English  Colonial 
Secretary  Joseph  Chamberlain,  backed  by  some  of  the  large 
capitalists  of  England,  who  wish  to  obtain  complete  control 
of  these  small  States  in  order  to  take  from  them  their  min- 
eral wealth,  their  liberty  and  government  by  fair  means  or 
foul,  and  as  we  firmly  believe  without  the  support  of  a 


APPENDIX  B  357 


large  number  of  honest,  liberty-loving  Englishmen  at  home 
and  abroad,  and  against  their  earnest  protest ;  and, 

Whereas  the  action  now  taken  by  the  English  govern- 
ment is  like  the  action  taken  by  George  the  Third  against 
the  New  England  colonies  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  years 
ago,  with  this  aggravation  thereto  that  the  present  South 
African  war  is  a  war  of  conquest  against  independent  for- 
eign States,  to  crush  out  from  them  the  last  spark  of 
equality,  liberty,  and  self-government,  while  in  this  country 
it  was  a  colony  in  fact  which  she  sought  thus  to  crush ; 
therefore, 

Eesolved,  that  we  American  citizens  of  Orange  City, 
Iowa,  believe  in  the  justice  of  the  cause  of  the  Boers  in  this 
war  against  the  money,  greed,  and  ruthless  grasp  for  addi- 
tional territory  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain,  and  it  is  our 
hearty  wish  that  the  victories  now  achieved  by  the  Boers 
may  be  followed  by  more  and  greater  victories,  until  the 
English  armies  shall  be  hurled  from  the  soil  of  South 
Africa  and  complete  independence  and  self-government  on 
the  basis  of  equal  rights  to  all  men  be  established  there. 

Resolved,  that  we  heartily  endorse  the  actions  of  so 
many  of  our  prominent  newspapers  in  the  United  States, 
of  so  many  benevolent  societies,  of  so  many  of  our  United 
States  Senators,  Representatives  and  other  prominent  men, 
and  so  many  of  the  City  Councils  in  prominent  Cities  in  so 
boldly  expressing  their  convictions  of  the  justice  of  the 
cause  of  the  Boers  and  their  endeavor  to  obtain  such  action 
as  shall  cause  the  United  States  to  tender  its  good  offices  in 
the  cause  of  a  just  and  impartial  peace  and  thus  prevent 
the  ruthless  shedding  of  more  blood. 

Resolved,  that  we  heartily  endorse  the  action  of  many 
American  communities  in  their  collection  of  funds  for  the 
widows  and  orphans  of  Boer  soldiers  who  are  killed  or 


358  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

maimed  in  battle,  and  to  defray  the  expense  of  Red  Cross 
nurses  to  care  for  the  sick  and  wounded,  and  hope  that  such 
acts  of  benevolence  will  continue  until  an  honorable  peace 
has  been  agreed  upon. 

Resolved,  that  we  firmly  believe  that  as  American  citi- 
zens it  is  our  duty  to  protest  against  all  encroachments  on 
personal  liberty  wherever  such  may  be  done  the  world  over, 
until  tyranny  shall  be  stamped  out  and  the  people  of  all 
countries  enjoy  the  rights  of  universal  suffrage  wherever 
they  are  capable  of  self-government. 

Resolved,  that  a  copy  of  these  resolutions  be  forwarded 
to  His  Excellency  President  Wm.  McKinley,  and  to  our 
Senators  and  Representatives  in  Congress  and  to  Presi- 
dents Kruger  and  Steyn. 

A.  Bolks,  Mayor. 

A.  van  der  Meide,  Clerk. 

On  the  22nd  of  January,  1900,  the  Sioux  County 
member  introduced  into  the  State  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives the  following  resolution : 

That  the  members  of  the  House  sympathize  with  the 
Boers  in  South  Africa  in  their  struggle  for  freedom  and 
independence;  that  their  brave  stand  for  their  rights  en- 
titles them  to  the  respect  of  the  civilized  world,  and  that  we 
trust  the  President  may  find  a  way  to  tender  the  good  offices 
of  the  United  States  to  aid  in  bringing  about  peace. 

By  a  vote  of  57  to  22  this  resolution  was  laid  ou 
the  table.  The  Democratic  editor  of  De  Vrije  Hol- 
lander thanked  the  six  Republicans  who  favored  the 
resolution,  three  of  them  representing  large  Dutch 
constituencies  in  the  counties  of  Sioux,  Marion,  and 
Grundy.313 

Mass  meetings  were  frequently  called  at  Pella, 


APPENDIX  B  359 


Otley,  and  Sully,  and  at  Orange  City,  Sioux  Center, 
Maurice,  Alton,  Rock  Valley,  and  other  towns  in  the 
vicinity.  Hollanders  also  spoke  at  meetings  in  Le 
Mars  and  Sioux  City.  All  these  gatherings  ended 
with  generous  donations  for  the  Boers.  Much  money 
was  collected  also  through  the  churches  and  by  means 
of  concerts  and  subscription  lists  which  were  carried 
from  house  to  house.  In  August,  1900,  three  young 
men  from  Sioux  County  —  A.  Kline,  H.  Dekker,  and 
M.  te  Veltrup  —  were  thus  enabled  to  enlist  in  the 
Boer  armies :  they  fought  until  the  Boers  were  over- 
whelmed.314 

In  the  summer  of  1900  C.  H.  Wessels,  President 
of  the  Orange  Free  State  Volksraad,  passed  through 
Alton  where  the  Transvaal  and  Orange  Free  State 
flags  were  flying  at  the  railroad  station.  A  large 
crowd  of  Hollanders  from  all  the  neighboring  towns 
greeted  him  with  loud  hurrahs  for  the  Transvaal  and 
listened  to  his  address  in  the  Dutch  language.  The 
Boer  representatives  who  accompanied  him  were  A. 
D.  W.  Wolmarens  and  A.  Fisscher.315 

Be  Vrije  Hollander  at  Orange  City  and  Fella's 
Nieuwsblad  never  ceased  their  violent  attacks  upon 
McKinley  for  his  "murder  and  robbery  policy"  and 
his  failure  to  aid  the  Boers.  Republican  and  Demo- 
cratic rallies  in  the  autumn  of  1900  assumed  addition- 
al importance  among  the  Hollanders  —  the  Demo- 
crats even  obtained  speakers  in  the  Dutch  language. 
William  J.  Bryan  gained  many  votes  as  a  conse- 
quence.318 

Money  continued  to  be  collected  in  every  possible 


360  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

way  during  the  year  1901 :  at  Pell  a  the  Moonlight 
Mission  Band  of  the  First  Reformed  church  held 
socials.  In  Sioux  County  at  the  Christian  celebra- 
tion of  the  Fourth  of  July  a  large  sum  was  con- 
tributed for  the  Boers.  Shortly  afterward  H.  D.  Vil- 
joen,  Field  Cornet,  and  Commandant  Liebenberg 
were  commended  to  the  good-will  of  the  people  of 
Iowa  by  the  proclamation  of  Governor  Shaw.  These 
two  men  who  had  fought  in  the  war  put  up  a  large 
tent  wherever  they  stopped,  delivered  addresses  on 
the  Boers  and  their  land,  attracted  great  crowds  in 
all  the  Dutch  communities  at  an  admission  price  of 
twenty-five  cents,  and  raised  about  $1,000  for  Boer 
orphans  and  widows.317 

In  the  month  of  October,  1901,  Rev.  van  Broek- 
huizen  spoke  in  nearly  all  the  Dutch  churches  of 
Iowa :  he  raised  $560  in  two  meetings  at  Pella,  $530 
at  Orange  City,  $350  at  Sioux  Center,  over  $200  at 
Hull,  and  about  $500  at  Middelburg,  Maurice,  Boy- 
den,  Rock  Valley,  and  Hospers.318    A  program  of  one 
of  these  gatherings  runs  as  follows : 
Psalm  68  — ■  one  stanza 
Prayer  —  Rev.  J.  Keizer 
Introduction  of  Rev.  van  Broekhuizen  by  President  of 

Transvaal  League  —  J.  H.  Stubenrauch 
Speech  —  Rev.  van  Broekhuizen 
Collection  recommended  —  Rev.  E.  Troost 
Collection  and  Psalm  68  —  second  and  third  stanzas 
Thanks  and  Benediction  —  Rev.  Niemeyer 

About  this  time  also  the  hearts  of  Hollanders 
were  filled  with  indignation  by  the  exaggerated  re- 


APPENDIX  B  361 


ports  of  terrible  suffering  in  the  reconcentrado  camps 
maintained  by  the  English  in  South  Africa.  Presi- 
dent McKinley  was  asked  in  a  long  petition  to  use 
his  influence  to  stop  the  system.  Later  De  Vrije  Hol- 
lander displayed  the  picture  of  a  child  in  the  last 
stage  of  starvation  in  one  of  Kitchener's  camps. 
Ministers  of  the  gospel  met  at  Newkirk  in  Sioux 
County  and  drew  up  a  petition  to  the  congressmen 
from  Iowa  asking  them  to  protest  in  the  name  of 
Christianity,  civilization,  and  humanity  against  the 
judicial  murder  of  Commander  Kritzinger  or  other 
Boer  officers  who  might  be  captured,  and  also  to  use 
all  their  influence  with  the  American  government  to 
protest  against  the  cruelty  and  inhumanity  of  the  re- 
concentrado camps  where  the  death  rate,  according 
to  official  statistics,  ranged  from  forty  to  fifty  deaths 
per  one  hundred  each  year.319 

Late  in  the  year  1901  came  the  call  for  money  and 
clothing  for  Boer  war  prisoners  on  the  Bermuda 
Islands.  The  Iowa  Transvaal  Committee  sent  over 
one  dozen  large  boxes  of  clothing  besides  money  for 
the  prisoners,  the  Ladies'  Aid  Societies  of  the 
churches  doing  especially  good  work.  When  De 
Vrije  Hollander  published  a  letter  from  a  friend  on 
the  Bermudas  to  the  effect  that  all  they  needed  was 
tobacco,  money  was  at  once  forthcoming  and  tobacco 
was  supplied  to  them.320 

Pella's  Weekblad  discovered  political  capital  in 
the  favor  which  Roosevelt  was  alleged  to  show  to- 
wards the  English :  did  he  not  allow  Englishmen  to 
buy  horses  in  America  for  the  war?    During  these 


362  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

months,  indeed,  it  was  well-nigh  impossible  to  buy 
horses  and  mules  from  the  Hollanders  of  Iowa :  they 
regarded  every  horse-dealer  with  suspicion,  for  how 
should  they  know  but  that  their  animals  might  be 
wanted  for  shipment  to  the  English  armies  f 321 

As  late  as  September,  1902,  in  answer  to  the  final 
appeal  of  the  Iowa  Transvaal  Committee,  money  was 
pouring  in.  Although  no  account  of  sums  collected 
and  despatched  can  be  obtained,  it  is  confidently  be- 
lieved that  the  Hollanders  of  Iowa  gave  to  the  Boers 
over  $10,000  of  their  wealth,  besides  clothing  and 
three  volunteers.322  And  among  the  most  powerful 
promoters  of  the  Boer  cause  were  the  two  Dutch 
newspapers  Pella's  Weekblad  and  De  Vrije  Hol- 
lander, while  no  single  man  exerted  himself  so  cease- 
lessly as  did  Martin  P.  van  Oosterhout. 


APPENDIX  C 

The  Dutch  Language 

One  of  the  striking  features  of  life  in  the  Dutch 
communities  of  Iowa  is  the  sound  of  nearly  all  the 
dialects  of  modern  Holland.  Listening  to  a  conver- 
sation between  two  natives  from  such  a  province  as 
Gelderland  or  Groningen  or  Drenthe  provokes  as 
many  smiles  as  a  funny  farce.  The  people  of  Fries- 
land,  however,  use  a  language  of  their  own  —  in- 
deed, their  everyday  speech  resembles  English  very 
much,  although  their  printed  language  is  practically 
unintelligible  to  the  ordinary  philologist. 

The  use  of  so  many  broad  dialects  and  the  adop- 
tion of  innumerable  Americanisms  has  of  course 
detracted  not  a  little  from  the  purity  of  the  Dutch 
language  in  Iowa.  Formal  instruction  in  the  mother 
tongue  has  never  been  seriously  attempted  except  in 
private  night-schools  which  have  frequently  been 
organized  in  most  of  the  Dutch  communities.  The 
survival  of  the  language,  however,  is  none  the  less  re- 
markable. 

Dutch  newspapers,  Dutch  church  services,  and 
Dutch  literature  such  as  the  Bible  arid  Sunday-school 
weeklies  have  kept  the  language  alive,  as  has  the  con- 
tinuing immigration  from  the  fatherland.  Holland- 
ers who  have  reached  the  age  of  maturity  care  little 

363 


364  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the  English  language,  for 
it  is  unnecessary  where  Dutch  is  understood  in  all 
the  affairs  of  life  whether  in  the  country  or  in  the 
towns. 

Children  of  Dutch  parentage,  therefore,  learn 
the  mother  dialect  at  home  and  English  from  their 
play-mates  —  they  soon  speak  English  almost  ex- 
clusively among  themselves,  and  only  converse  with 
their  parents  in  Dutch.  At  a  very  early  age  children 
of  one  family  are  forced  to  use  English  when  they 
can  not  make  themselves  understood  in  dialect  to 
children  of  another  family.  Children  who  learned 
"Friesch"  or  "Geldersch"  at  home  find  themselves 
unable  to  converse  with  persons  who  have  a  com- 
mand of  other  dialects  or  pure  Dutch,  and  so  the 
prevalence  of  dialects  in  the  Dutch  communities  of 
Iowa  has  come  to  be  responsible  for  the  use  of  a  com- 
mon language  — ■  English. 

American-born  and  immigrant  children  have,  of 
course,  always  attended  the  common  schools  of  their 
localities  —  they  grow  up  with  the  English  language. 
It  may  be  well  for  the  painstaking,  careful  student 
to  have  a  familiar  acquaintance  with  two  or  more 
languages  —  each  one  imparts  to  the  student  some 
advantage  or  virtue  which  enriches  his  knowledge  of 
the  others.  But  the  child  of  Dutch  parentage  who  is 
reared  in  the  atmosphere  of  two  languages  expe- 
riences the  utmost  difficulty  in  acquiring  real  fluency 
in  either.  Familiarity  with  two  languages  is  a  fine 
asset,  but  it  has  some  drawbacks,  especially  when  one 
limits  or  interferes  with  expression  in  the  other. 


APPENDIX  C  365 


American  teachers  in  the  schools  of  Dutch  com- 
munities have  discovered  an  element  of  humor  in  the 
situation:  children  from  Dutch  families  innocently 
translate  Dutch  words  and  idioms  which  result  often- 
times in  the  most  ludicrous  English.  Teachers  of 
rhetoric  and  composition  have  much  cause  to  smile 
at  the  astounding  literary  productions  of  their  pu- 
pils :  they  have  the  best  reason  to  believe  that  a 
knowledge  of  Dutch  is  a  handicap  which  prevents  the 
acquisition  of  good  English.  But  spoken  and  writ- 
ten English  continues  to  improve  with  each  succeed- 
ing generation. 

Many  old-fashioned,  conservative  Hollanders  de- 
plore the  fact  that  their  mother  tongue  is  gradually 
falling  into  disuse,  although  they  feel  that  Dutch  will 
not  entirely  disappear  as  long  as  fresh  accessions  of 
Hollanders  from  Europe  continue  "to  leaven  the 
loaf".  Not  long  ago  people  met  at  Pella  to  organize 
a  society,  "De  Nederlansche  Bond":  they  wished  to 
strengthen  the  bond  between  Holland  and  the  United 
States,  to  study  the  influence  of  Holland  on  American 
development,  to  translate  and  spread  Dutch  books, 
to  establish  libraries  of  Dutch  books,  to  organize 
clubs  for  the  study  of  the  literature,  history,  and  law 
of  Holland,  and  to  introduce  into  high  schools  in- 
struction in  these  subjects. 

Despite  expressions  of  grief  and  exhortations  to 
cling  to  the  tongue  of  their  fathers,  Hollanders  admit 
that  English  is  slowly  but  irresistibly  undermining 
the  place  of  the  Dutch  language  in  the  everyday  con- 
cerns of  business  life.    English  supplants  Dutch  first 


366  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

in  the  school,  then  on  the  street,  then  in  the  family, 
and  lastly  in  newspapers  and  churches.  That  lan- 
guage which  is  most  widely  useful  will  prevail.  As 
one  Hollander  expressed  it :  "  The  English  conquest 
in  this  respect  (who  can  deny  it)  is  a  natural  and  by 
no  means  violent  one,  quite  different  from  that  of 
other  days  revealed  by  history."  323 


NOTES  AND  EEFERENCES 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES 

CHAPTER    I 

1  Much  has  been  written  in  praise  of  the  Dutch  nation 
and  the  Hollanders.  Perhaps  no  more  bombastic  appre- 
ciation of  Dutch  institutions  has  ever  appeared  in  such  at- 
tractive form  as  Douglas  Campbell's  The  Puritan  in  Hol- 
land, England  and  America.  As  for  the  critical  value  of 
this  ingenious  two-volume  work  it  is  sufficient  to  refer  the 
reader  to  Chapter  IX  of  The  Evolution  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  which  Sydney  G.  Fisher  has  devoted 
to  a  very  searching  analysis  and  thorough  criticism  of 
Campbell's  claims. 

On  the  other  hand,  while  the  Dutch  in  America  have 
been  largely  free  from  disparagement  and  abuse  they  have 
not  been  altogether  secure  from  the  ridicule  and  misrepre- 
sentations of  a  school  of  writers,  whose  archetype  is  Wash- 
ington Irving.  Mr.  Fisher,  too,  likes  that  style  in  Men, 
Women  and  Manners  in  Colonial  Times. 

1 '  The  funny  fellows,  both  penmen  and  artists,  who  saw 
American  Dutchmen  a  century  or  two  after  New  Nether- 
land  had  passed  away,  and  who  have  essayed  to  write  or 
picture  the  history  of  New  Amsterdam,  give  us  the  impres- 
sion that  most  of  the  Dutch  colonists  were  old  and  fat, 
stupid,  choleric,  and  lazy,  and  lived  in  a  cloud  of  tobacco 
smoke.  Thus  these  caricaturists  cast  a  glow  more  humorous 
than  luminous  over  the  early  history  of  the  State  of  New 
York."  —  Griffis'  The  Story  of  New  Netherlands,  p.  49. 

A  recent  reviewer  of  Mrs.  Van  Rensselaer's  History  of 

369 


370  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

the  City  of  New  York  declares  that  many  writers  show  a 
disposition  "to  ignore  the  work-day  character  of  the  New 
Netherland  colonists,  and  to  try  rather  to  invest  them  vnth 
an  atmosphere  of  quaintness  and  with  fanciful  surround- 
ings." —  The  American  Historical  Review,  Vol.  XV,  p.  156. 

2  In  1620  the  States-General  of  the  Dutch  Republic  had 
refused  to  supply  two  ships  of  war  to  protect  emigrants  on 
their  way  to  New  Netherland.  An  English  preacher  had 
assured  the  West  India  Company  that  he  had  "the  means 
of  inducing  over  four  hundred  families  to  accompany  him 
thither",  both  out  of  Holland  and  England,  to  plant  there 
a  new  Commonwealth.  —  See  Documents  Relative  to  the 
Colonial  History  of  the  State  of  New  York,  Vol.  I,  pp.  22-24. 

3 ' '  Neither  legitimate  trade  nor  colonization  was  neces- 
sarily the  first  idea  with  'John  Company'.  War,  devasta- 
tion of  the  Spanish  possessions,  capture  of  silver  and  gold, 
and  traffic  in  slaves  were  their  primal  objects.  .  .  .  On 
the  seas,  and  in  the  West  Indies  and  South  America,  this  cor- 
poration secured  its  loot  and  made  its  greatest  conquests. 
New  Netherland  was  only  a  by-product.  Indeed,  if  this 
northern  colony  had  not  been  at  first  looked  upon  chiefly 
as  a  station  on  the  way  home  from  Brazil  and  the  Caribbean 
Sea  it  might  never  have  started."  —  Griffis'  The  Story  of 
New  Netherland,  p.  139.  See  also  Documents  Relative  to 
the  Colonial  History  of  the  State  of  Neiv  York,  Vol.  I,  pp. 
39,  42,  67. 

4  Documents  Relative  to  the  Colonial  History  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  Vol.  I,  pp.  40,  65. 

50'Callaghan  in  his  History  of  Neib  Netherland,  Vol. 
I,  p.  178,  sketches  a  New  Netherland  which  might  have 
arisen  if  the  Company's  directors  had  filled  the  land,  "as 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  371 

the  English  were  doing,  with  thousands  of  moral,  hardy- 
pioneers;  had  they  transported  cattle,  and  encouraged  the 
planting  of  towns  and  villages  in  the  wilderness,  instead  of 
building  solitary  forts  to  serve  as  a  rendezvous  for  lazy  In- 
dians and  a  few  isolated  traders". 

6  Documents  Relative  to  the  Colonial  History  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  Vol.  I,  pp.  106,  107. 

In  Dunlap's  History  of  the  New  Netherlands,  Vol.  I,  p. 
57,  we  read  that  in  1638  when  Kieft  arrived,  "it  is  recorded 
in  the  secretary  of  state's  office  at  Albany,  that  fort  Am- 
sterdam in  the  city  of  New  Amsterdam  was  in  a  state  of 
decay  and  dilapidation ;  many  farms  belonging  to  the  com- 
pany were  without  tenants  or  cultivation,  and  thrown  into 
common ;  the  trading  vessels,  with  only  one  exception,  were 
in  bad  condition;  the  houses  were  out  of  repair". 

7  Documents  Relative  to  the  Colonial  History  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  Vol.  I,  pp.  149-151,  181. 

8  Documents  Relative  to  the  Colonial  History  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  Vol.  I,  pp.  135,  136,  140,  141,  155,  182. 
At  this  time  the  West  India  Company  again  offers  a  char- 
acteristic complaint  to  the  States-General:  "Jointly  and 
individually,  we  sensibly  feel  in  the  inmost  recesses  of  our 
hearts,  the  miserable  and  desolate  condition  of  the  poor 
people  there,  the  rather  as  we  find  ourselves  in  such  in- 
ability that  we  not  only  cannot  supply  the  requisite  means 
to  bring  this  Colony,  which  is  a  source  of  so  much  expense 
for  the  West  India  Company,  to  such  a  state  that  we  might 
in  time  realize  the  long  looked  for  fruits  thereof". 

9  Documents  Relative  to  the  Colonial  History  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  Vol.  I,  pp.  152-154,  161,  251,  259-270, 
275-318,  374,  375.    In  April,  1648,  it  was  asserted  that  the 


372  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

country  lay  prostrate,  settlers  were  hunted,  lands  laid 
waste,  bouweries  and  plantations  to  the  number  of  fifty  or 
sixty  burnt  and  laid  in  ashes,  "and  what  is  worst  of  all,  the 
Dutch  name  is  through  those  cruel  acts,  despised  to  a  most 
sovereign  degree,  by  the  Heathens  of  those  parts".  Even 
then  it  was  prophesied  that  the  English,  who  had  grown  to 
be  about  60,000  strong,  would  in  time  take  the  country. 

10  Documents  Relative  to  the  Colonial  History  of  the 
State  of  New  York,  Vol.  I,  pp.  619,  630-634,  637. 

11  GriffiV  The  Story  of  New  Netherland,  p.  127. 

12  There  is  authority  for  the  statement  that  hundreds 
of  the  better  class  of  Dutch  withdrew  from  New  York,  re- 
turning to  Holland  or  settling  in  the  West  and  East  Indies, 
not  a  few  going  to  Virginia  and  the  Carolinas.  —  Griffis' 
The  Story  of  New  Netherland,  p.  148. 

13  See  Roosevelt's  History  of  New  York,  pp.  48,  58;  and 
Documents  Relative  to  the  Colonial  History  of  the  State  of 
New  York,  Vol.  II,  pp.  512,  526,  where  the  number  was  esti- 
mated at  8000  in  1667  and  at  from  6000  to  7000  in  1673. 

14Cheyney's  European  Background  of  American  His- 
tory, pp.  186,  187. 

15  "Writers  of  English  origin  and  apologists  for  Eng- 
lish aggression  are  continually  endeavoring  to  gloss  over 
the  English  usurpation  of  New  Netherland  by  disseminating 
the  fiction  that  the  New  Netherlanders  were  so  tired  of  their 
own  government  that  they  welcomed  English  rule.  The 
New  Netherlanders  loved  to  quarrel  with  their  governors 
and  to  accuse  them  of  various  misdeeds,  as  all  oppositions 
will  do,  but  this  did  not  imply  a  predilection  for  English 
rule."  —  The  American  Historical  Review,  Vol.  XV,  p.  394. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  373 

The  latest  English  opinion  of  the  Dutch  in  America  is 
a  part  of  a  psychological  study  of  the  American  nation. 
The  author  writes:  "The  civilization  of  the  Dutch  suc- 
cumbed before  a  more  virile  race,  a  race  endowed  with  a 
peculiar  genius  to  govern  and  leave  its  ineffaceable  mark. 
All  that  the  Dutch  brought  to  America  —  language,  cus- 
toms, political  principles  —  has  been  overlaid  by  the  speech 
and  institutions  and  political  philosophy  of  the  Eng- 
lish. .  .  .  Search  as  we  may,  we  can  find  no  trace  of  the 
Dutch  strain  or  that  the  Dutch  left  any  indesinent  impress 
upon  the  American  character  or  were  able  to  modify  a  con- 
quering race  or  impose  upon  it  their  own  civilization. ' '  — 
Low's  The  American  People,  pp.  378  and  389. 

Elsewhere  the  same  author  declares:  "No  people  who 
have  played  a  part  in  affecting  the  destinies  of  mankind  — 
and  that  the  Dutch  did,  no  one  who  is  familiar  with  their 
history  or  that  of  Europe  in  the  sixteenth  century  will 
deny — offer  such  a  curious  and  puzzling  study.  .  .  .  And 
yet  virile,  industrious,  undegenerate  —  and  those  qualities 
make  the  mystery  all  the  greater  —  they  have  influenced 
the  world  so  little. ' '  —  The  American  People,  p.  392. 

Despite  the  fact  that  many  Dutch  geographical  names 
have  been  erased  from  the  map,  chiefly  by  the  English  (as 
in  the  case  of  New  Netherland  and  New  Holland,  which  is 
now  called  Australia,  though  the  name  New  Zealand  has 
been  preserved),  Holland  has  been  the  only  one  among  deca- 
dent states  able  to  retain  control  of  populous  colonial  pos- 
sessions. Her  colonies  rank  fourth  in  extent  and  third  in 
population,  although  a  very  small  percentage  of  the  colo- 
nials is  Dutch :  it  is  estimated  that  the  European  element  in 
the  25,000,000  people  on  the  island  of  Java  does  not  exceed 
50,000  souls.  Wherever  the  Dutch  colonists  have  by  their 
industry  accomplished  the  greatest  results,  the  English  have 


374  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

been  able  to  establish  their  political  domination.  This  was 
the  case  in  America,  and  also  recently  in  South  Africa, 
where  the  Transvaal,  Orange  Free  State,  and  Cape  Colony, 
still  very  largely  Dutch,  are  now  parts  of  the  British  Em- 
pire. 

"In  view  of  the  overwhelming  preponderance  of  Great 
Britain  it  is  remarkable  how  Holland  has  not  merely  pre- 
served, but  extended  its  possessions ;  without  them  it  would 
be  an  insignificant,  feeble  member  in  the  family  of  Europe ; 
with  them  its  power  is  much  more  substantial  and  far- 
reaching  than  many  of  the  larger  empires.  The  Dutch, 
with  a  small  army  of  a  few  thousand  men,  govern  thirty- 
five  million  people ;  their  ships  ply  in  every  sea,  their  mer- 
chants frequent  every  market,  and  their  products  are  re- 
quired in  every  household."  —  Morris'  The  History  of 
Colonization,  Vol.  I,  pp.  355-359.  See  also  Dunlap's  His- 
tory of  the  Neiv  Netherlands,  Vol.  I,  pp.  40,  41. 

CHAPTEE  II 

16  Griffis  in  The  Story  of  New  Netherlands,  p.  48,  believes 
the  history  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  America  to  be  all- 
important  "because  the  highest  Dutch  social  life  was  closely 
associated  with  the  Church,  and  was  from  the  first  found  in 
its  largest  and  fullest  form  in  the  congregations.  The 
Church  nourished  a  spirit  of  democracy,  besides  maintain- 
ing the  schools  and  culture  after  the  English  conquered 
New  Netherland  and  the  royal  governors  abolished  the  pub- 
lic schools.  .  .  .  The  Reformed  Dutch  Church  was  the 
seedbed  for  the  sprouting  of  American  and  Continental,  as 
opposed  to  aristocratic  British  notions.  The  language,  cus- 
toms, traditions,  and  best  inheritances  of  Patria  lingered 
longest,  and  are  to-day  found  most  notably  in  the  Reformed 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  375 

churches  in  the  East  and  West  of  our  country.  When  New 
Netherland  ceased  to  be,  the  Dutch  Church  and  people  still 
remained  a  potent  element  in  the  making  of  the  American 
man  and  the  world's  grandest  political  structure." 

See  also  The  Story  of  New  Netherland,  p.  264 ;  and  Cor- 
win's  Manual  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  America,  Fourth 
Edition,  p.  45.  On  p.  132  of  the  latter  work  the  reader  will 
find  that  this  Church  was  called  "Reformed  Dutch"  or 
"Reformed  Protestant  Dutch"  until  the  name  was  changed 
in  1867,  after  a  somewhat  heated  discussion,  to  "Reformed 
Church  in  America".  The  writer,  however,  has  taken  the 
liberty  to  use  the  name  given  in  the  text. 

17  Low's  The  American  People,  pp.  378,  379. 

18  Corwin's  Manual,  pp.  42-44,  116,  126,  131;  and 
Griffis'  The  Story  of  New  Netherland,  pp.  249,  251. 

19  Corwin's  Manual,  pp.  45-47,  99,  143,  162. 

20  Corwin's  Manual,  pp.  1073-1082,  where  can  be  found 
a  chronological  list  of  the  congregations  of  the  Reformed 
Church  in  America,  1628-1902.  See  also  Griffis'  The  Story 
of  New  Netherland,  p.  265. 

Professor  Albert  B.  Faust  has  calculated  that  the  six 
thousand  original  Dutch  settlers  of  New  York  (a  conserva- 
tive estimate  in  1673),  doubling  their  number  every  twenty- 
three  years,  would  make  about  200,000  Dutch  descendants 
in  1790.  To  this  number  he  has  added  about  40,000  Dutch 
for  other  States  in  1790.  Figuring  that  the  population  of 
1790  increased  about  ten  and  one-half  times  until  1900, 
Professor  Faust  concludes  that  the  American-born  descend- 
ants of  the  early  Dutch  immigrants  numbered  about  2,520,- 
000  in  1900. —  Faust's  The  German  Element  in  the  United 
States,  Vol.  II.  pp.  16-18. 


376  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

21  United  States  Summary  of  Commerce  and  Finance, 
June,  1903,  p.  4339.  The  exact  figures  on  Dutch  immigra- 
tion by  decades  are  as  follows :  1841-1850  —  8251 ;  1851- 
1860  —  10,789;  1861-1870  —  9102;  1871-1880  —  16,541; 
1881-1890  —  53,701;  .1891-1895  —  25,812;  1896-1900  — 
6004 ;  1901-1902  —  4633.  During  the  years  1821-1902  Euro- 
pean nations  contributed  to  our  population  in  the  order 
named :  Germany,  Ireland,  England,  Italy,  Norway  and 
Sweden,  Austria-Hungary,  Russia  and  Poland,  France, 
Scotland,  Switzerland,  Denmark,  Holland,  Spain  and  Por- 
tugal, and  Belgium. 

22  United  States  Summary  of  Commerce  and  Finance, 
June,  1903,  pp.  4375-4399.  In  1900  the  following  States 
contained  more  than  one  thousand  foreign-born  Dutch : 
Michigan,  30,406;  Illinois,  21,916;  New  Jersey,  10,261; 
New  York,  9414;  Iowa,  9388;  Wisconsin,  6496;  Minnesota, 
2717 ;  Ohio,  1719 ;  Indiana,  1678 ;  South  Dakota,  1566 ;  and 
California,  1015.  The  foreign-born  Dutch  in  the  United 
States  in  1900  numbered  104,931,  of  whom  2608  and  18,555 
lived  in  New  York  City  and  Chicago,  respectively. 

23  Minutes  of  the  General  Synod  of  the  Reformed 
Church  in  America,  June,  1910,  pp.  778-817 ;  and  consult 
also  the  Yearbook  of  the  Christian  Reformed  Church  in 
America,  1910,  pp.  33-45. 

The  fact  that  the  language  of  the  pulpit  in  the  West  is 
mainly  Dutch  and  almost  entirely  English  in  the  East  is 
explained  by  the  comparative  youthfulness  of  the  western 
settlements  and  the  continual  accessions  of  fresh  immi- 
grants from  Holland. 

The  futility  of  attempting  to  compute  the  number  of 
Dutch  and  their  descendants  in  the  United  States  is  ob- 
vious.    The  Christian  Reformed  Church  claims  a  member- 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  377 

ship  of  14,031  families  or  of  78,427  persons.  Computing  on 
the  same  basis,  the  Reformed  Church  would  have  for  its 
63,364  families  348,502  persons,  making  a  total  of  426,929 
people  for  the  two  Churches.  But  the  membership  of  con- 
gregations in  the  East  is  not  exclusively  Dutch.  Further- 
more, it  is  difficult  to  estimate  the  number  of  Dutch  who 
are  Roman  Catholics  or  non-church  members,  or  the  number 
of  descendants  of  the  original  Dutch  settlers  of  the  seven- 
teenth century. 

In  A  Century  of  Population  Growth  in  the  United 
States,  1790-1900,  published  by  the  United  States  Census 
Bureau,  Chapter  XI  is  devoted  to  "nationality  as  indicated 
by  the  heads  of  families  reported  at  the  first  census":  the 
number  of  Hollanders  is  estimated  at  about  79.000  (50,600 
in  New  York  and  21,581  in  New  Jersey),  and  if  their  de- 
scendants maintained  the  same  proportion  to  the  native- 
born  population,  they  would  have  numbered  875,000  in 
1900.  This  estimate  seems  sounder  than  that  of  Professor 
Faust,  mentioned  in  footnote  20.  Adding  the  descendants 
of  Hollanders  who  immigrated  to  America  from  1790  to 
1900,  and  250,000  is  a  low  estimate,  and  also  all  persons  of 
Dutch  parentage  in  1900  (estimated  by  Professor  Faust  at 
283,764),  the  people  of  Dutch  ancestry  and  Dutch  birth  in 
the  United  States  probably  numbered  about  1,400,000  in 
1900. 

CHAPTEE  TTI 

24  In  the  writing  of  this  chapter  the  author  has  drawn 
upon  the  following  sources,  all  in  the  Dutch  language :  De 
Afscheiding:  Ecn  Gedenkschrift  (The  Separation:  A  Me- 
moir), by  John  Nollen,  an  excellent  brochure  written  fifty 
years  after  the  settlement  of  Pella;  and  Landvcrhuizing, 
of  Waarom  Bevorderen  Wij  de  Volksverhuizing  en  wel  naar 
Noord-Amerika  en  niet  naar  Java,   (Emigration,  or  Why 


378  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

We  Encourage  People  to  Emigrate  to  North  America  and 
not  to  Java),  by  A.  Brummelkamp  and  A.  C.  van  Raalte, 
1846.  The  latter  interesting  pamphlet  contains  a  letter  to 
the  people  of  Holland,  a  letter  to  the  Christians  of  the 
United  States,  and  letters  of  Hollanders  who  had  been  in 
the  United  States  for  the  past  two  years.  The  author  has 
also  consulted  Geschiedenis  van  Pella,  Iowa,  en  Omgeving 
(The  History  of  Pella,  Iowa,  and  Vicinity),  by  K.  van 
Stigt,  in  three  parts,  consisting  of  391  pages. 

25  Young  men  chose  the  ministry  as  they  would  have 
chosen  law  or  medicine,  and  candidates  for  the  ministry 
had  to  subscribe  to  a  very  loose  and  ambiguous  formula. 
See  Nollen's  De  Afscheiding,  pp.  9-12;  and  Corwin's  Man- 
ual, pp.  12,  13,  137. 

26  Their  organization  being  based  on  the  creed  and 
church  regulations  of  Dort,  the  Separatists  looked  upon 
themselves  as  the  original  Netherlands  Reformed  Church 
and  their  official  title  was  Christian  Reformed  Church.  The 
secession  principles  were  not  shared  by  the  aristocratic 
orthodox  party  in  the  Church  nor  by  the  mass  of  the  clergy, 
who  thought  more  could  be  done  for  the  ailing  Church  by 
remaining  in  it.  See  van  Raalte 's  Landverhuizing,  p.  33; 
and  Nollen's  De  Afscheiding,  pp.  25-29,  for  details  of  the 
secession  in  Holland. 

27  Nollen's  De  Afscheiding,  p.  12.  In  his  Geschiedenis, 
Part  I,  pp.  6,  7,  van  Stigt  writes:  "Living  at  a  time  when 
the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  had  sunk  into  a  state  of  far- 
reaching  decay,  Mr.  Scholte,  by  reason  of  his  active  and 
fiery  temperament,  became  an  instrument  of  the  Lord  to 
fan  the  smouldering  embers  into  a  blaze,  and  with  the  help 
of  other  courageous  workers  in  the  Lord's  vineyard,  under 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  379 


God's  guidance,  he  kindled  a  fire  the  results  of  which  are 
still  perceived  and  experienced  in  the  Fatherland  to-day." 

28 Article  291  of  the  Code  Napoleon  reads  as  follows: 
"No  societies  or  company  of  more  than  twenty  persons 
shall  he  allowed  to  organize  for  the  purpose  of  daily  or  pe- 
riodical gatherings  to  consider  subjects  of  religion,  litera- 
ture, politics,  or  other  matters,  without  permission  of  the 
Government  and  under  such  terms  as  local  authorities  shall 
deem  proper  to  impose. ' ' 

For  details  of  the  persecution,  see  Nollen's  De  Afschei- 
ding,  pp.  13-39;  van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  I,  pp.  8-18, 
72;  and  van  Raalte's  Landverhuizing,  p.  31.  See  also  an 
article  by  Mr.  Cyrenus  Cole,  A  Bit  of  Holland  in  America, 
in  The  Midland  Monthly,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  115-117. 

A  glance  at  the  table  of  contents  of  De  Reformatie,  a 
periodical  of  the  Christian  Reformed  Church  in  The  Nether- 
lands published  and  edited  by  Rev.  Scholte  from  1837  until 
he  departed  for  America,  shows  clearly  how  the  Separatists 
were  treated  in  various  provinces.  The  writer  is  indebted 
to  Mr.  A.  J.  Betten  of  Orange  City,  Iowa,  for  being  per- 
mitted to  consult  his  bound  volumes  of  this  periodical.  Mr. 
H.  P.  Scholte  of  Pella,  Iowa,  also  owns  a  complete  set  of 
Dc  Reformatie. 

29  Nollen's  Be  Afscheiding,  pp.  30,  35,  37;  van  Stigt's 
Geschiedenis,  Part  I,  pp.  18,  19;  and  van  Raalte's  Land- 
verhuizing, pp.  31,  33.  Nollen  in  his  excellent  memoir 
quotes  the  words  of  Rev.  Brummelkamp  :  "At  first,  when  a 
Separatist  appeared  upon  the  streets,  he  was  pointed  at  as 
if  he  were  a  being  from  another  world,  and  urchins  mocked 
him  or  threw  mud  and  stones  at  him.  If  anyone  joined  the 
dissenting  Church,  he  did  it  knowing  that  position  and 
property,  relatives  and  friends  were  at  stake.     'You  are 


380  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

trouble-makers,  you  incite  rebellion,  you  disobey  your  su- 
periors,' said  most  of  the  inhabitants  of  The  Netherlands. 
Even  friends  and  relatives,  with  whom  we  had  walked  and 
counselled  in  peace,  kept  their  distance,  so  great  was  their 
slavish  subjection  to  Synodical  supremacy. ' ' 

30  See  van  Raalte's  Landverhuizing,  pp.  8,  31,  32;  Nol- 
len's  De  Afscheiding,  pp.  38,  39. 

31  Van  Raalte's  Landverhuizing,  pp.  8,  15,  17,  18,  19, 
21,  35;  and  van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  I,  pp.  24,  72. 

32  The  best  account  of  the  economic  state  of  Holland 
can  be  found  in  van  Raalte's  Landverhuizing,  pp.  6,  7,  9, 
10,  33,  34.  See  also  van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  pp.  23-25,  72 ; 
Nollen's  De  Afscheiding,  pp.  40-42;  and  Gedenboek — 
Vijftigjarig  Jubileum  der  Christelijke  Gereformeerde  Kerk, 
1857-1907,  pp.  4,  5.  The  last  named  book  contains  an  ex- 
cellent article  by  Rev.  Henry  Beets. 

CHAPTER  IV 

33  Nollen's  De  Afscheiding,  pp.  40,  42 ;  and  van  Raalte's 
Landverhuizing ,  pp.  20,  33,  34. 

34  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  I,  p.  23;  and  van 
Raalte's  Landverhuizing,  pp.  16-23,  35.  With  regard  to 
Java,  the  author  of  the  latter  pamphlet  wrote  as  follows: 
"May  this  emigration  movement  open  the  Government's 
eyes  to  granting  full  liberty  in  civil  and  ecclesiastical  af- 
fairs, both  in  regard  to  schools  and  churches,  so  that  our 
colonies  may  be  rendered  accessible  to  those  who  wish  to  go. 
Let  an  endeavor  be  made  to  send  thither  so  many  of  our  in- 
habitants as  dare  not  think  of  going  to  America  from  a  lack 
of  money  to  cover  travelling  expenses.  .  .  .  The  Govern- 
ment can  easily  advance  to  them  the  cost  of  food  on  the 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  381 

journey,  equipment  and  first  expenses  on  arrival,  while  the 
transportation  of  thousands  should  be  costless,  because 
nearly  150  vessels  return  to  Java  empty  every  year.  .  .  . 
Furthermore,  just  think  of  converting  millions  of  Javanese 
to  Christianity !  But  how  can  the  thousands  who  are  ready 
afford  to  pay  the  price?  Let  the  Government  do  something 
before  it  is  too  late." 

35Nollen's  De  Afscheiding,  pp.  40-43.  The  land  which 
satisfied  the  wishes  of  the  Separatists  was  then  little 
known  in  Europe:  "In  those  days  America  appeared  to  lie 
outside  the  world,  and  the  journey  thither  demanded  a 
farewell,  such  as  reminded  one  of  a  death-bed  scene.  Emi- 
grants were  then  still  looked  upon  as  moral  outcasts :  most- 
ly persons  who  were  in  bad  odor,  who  had  been  'shipped 
away'  by  friends  and  relatives." 

See  especially  van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  I,  pp.  22- 
2G,  which  is  a  transcript  from  De  Eeformatie,  1841 ;  and 
van  Raalte's  Emigration,  pp.  16,  35. 

36  Van  Raalte's  Landverhuizing,  pp.  14,  24,  37,  42,  43- 
51;  Nollen's  De  Afscheiding,  pp.  40,  41;  and  The  Telia 
Gazette,  June  5,  1856. 

CHAPTER  V 

37  Van  Raalte's  Landverhuizing,  pp.  37,  54,  55.  In 
their  letter  to  Christians  in  North  America,  van  Raalte  and 
Brummelkamp  appealed  for  money  to  help  promote  the 
emigration  of  the  worthy  poor:  "In  the  following  month 
[June,  1846]  fifty  persons,  partly  members  of  our  congre- 
gations, partly  other  Christian  countrymen,  intend  to 
journey  via  New  York  and  the  Lakes  to  Milwaukee,  Wis- 
consin, where  a  few  families  from  the  province  of  Gelder- 
land  already  live ;  while  a  few  others  intend  to  journey  down 


382  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

the  Ohio  to  Hollanders  in  Illinois,  later  join  those  in  Wis- 
consin, and  together  to  found  a  colony  whither  subsequent 
emigrants  may  go,  according  as  the  Lord  shall  supply  us 
means  to  cover  traveling  expenses. ' ' 

See  also  van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  I,  p.  74;  Nol- 
len's  De  Afscheiding,  p.  43;  and  Donnell's  Pioneers  of 
Marion  County,  p.  159. 

38Nollen's  De  Afscheiding,  p.  42.  Scholte  said  of  him- 
self :  "At  an  age  when  man  is  at  the  zenith  of  his  power  to 
work,  with  all  my  God-given  wealth  and  spiritual  gifts,  I 
can  be  of  use  there  to  my  own  family  and  to  many  of  my 
present  and  also  future  countrymen :  here  at  home  the  way 
to  that  is  closed."  —  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  I,  p.  24. 

39  Donnell's  Pioneers  of  Marion  County,  p.  160.  The 
number  is  given  on  the  authority  of  A.  J.  Betten,  one  of  the 
first  Dutch  settlers  in  Iowa. 

40  The  Dissenters  were  pretty  well  scattered  throughout 
the  kingdom,  but  most  of  them  were  to  be  found  in  the 
provinces  of  North  Brabant,  Gelderland,  Overysel,  Gronin- 
gen,  and  Friesland.  H.  P.  Scholte  was  the  leader  at 
Utrecht.  —  See  Nollen's  De  Afscheiding,  p.  29. 

For  all  these  facts  the  writer  is  mainly  indebted  to  van 
Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  I,  pp.  75-85,  121.  This  history 
is  especially  valuable  because  it  contains  the  names  of  all 
Hollanders  who  came  to  Iowa  in  the  early  years.  The  names 
of  those  who  comprised  the  first  party  are  also  preserved. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  van  Raalte  with  his  family 
and  forty-seven  followers  left  Rotterdam  on  the  same  day  as 
the  small  party  which  landed  at  New  Orleans,  but  van 
Raalte  disembarked  at  New  York  and  conducted  his  party 
to  the  State  of  Michigan  to  found  what  has  come  to  be  the 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  383 

largest  Dutch  settlement  in  America.  —  See  Nollen's  De 
Afscheiding,  pp.  42,  43. 

41  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  I,  pp.  85,  86. 

42  Nollen's  De  Afscheiding,  p.  43;  and  van  Stigt's 
Geschiedenis,  Part  I,  p.  32. 

43  For  the  names  of  perhaps  all  of  the  Dutch  emigrants 
upon  these  vessels  see  van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  I,  pp. 
89-112.  This  book,  pp.  112-114,  also  contains  the  names  of 
about  seventy-five  persons  who  came  to  America  on  various 
other  ships,  and  afterwards  settled  in  Iowa. 

44  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  I,  pp.  115-121. 

CHAPTEK  VI 

45  This  account  is  contained  in  a  pamphlet  of  sixty-three 
pages  composed  and  published  in  1848,  entitled  Eene  Stem 
uit  Fella  (A  Voice  from  Pella),  and  it  consists  of  chapters 
on  "The  Preparation",  "The  Settlement",  and  "Conclu- 
sion", several  appendices,  and  two  small  maps.  —  See  the 
writer's  translation  in  The  Iowa  Journal  of  History  and 
Politics,  Vol.  IX,  pp.  528-574. 

A  reviewer  in  The  Scottish  Historical  Review,  Vol.  IX, 
p.  217,  writes  of  the  pamphlet  as  follows:  "Reading  like 
an  emigration  agent's  advertisement  with  a  sermon  run- 
ning through  it,  the  paper  has  the  further  interest  of  re- 
flecting contemporary  conditions  on  religious  freedom  in 
Holland." 

In  the  first  paragraph  Scholte  writes:  "Numerous 
former  fellow-countrymen  of  mine  must  long  ago  have  ex- 
pected some  article  from  my  pen.  The  reason  for  my  silence 
hitherto  lies  not  in  any  indifference  toward  the  land  of  my 
birth ;  for  during  my  domicile  in  the  United  States  of  North 


384  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

America  I  have  followed  the  fortunes  of  The  Netherlands  as 
closely  as  possible.  It  pained  me  to  hear  that  affairs  since 
my  departure  have  been  so  conducted  that  the  blood  of 
citizens  had  to  be  poured  out,  due  not  to  differences  with 
foreign  potentates  but  to  civil  dissensions.  Just  as  little 
must  the  reason  for  my  silence  be  sought  in  dissatisfaction 
springing  from  my  former  experiences.  With  grateful  ac- 
knowledgment of  God 's  good  hand  over  me  for  the  unusual 
honor  which  has  come  to  me  in  my  new  country,  I  have 
sincerely  forgiven  the  land  of  my  birth  for  the  unjust  treat- 
ment meted  out  to  me  in  various  ways. 

"The  reason  for  my  silence  hitherto  is  that  I  did  not 
like  to  trouble  my  former  fellow-countrymen  with  matters 
which  they  can  read  in  every  book  on  America,  and  I  did 
not  care  to  tell  them  facts  which  in  themselves  are  of 
trifling  importance  but  when  colored  a  little  have  a  certain 
charm  for  the  minds  of  men.  I  believe  I  am  well  enough 
acquainted  with  human  nature  to  know  how  little  it  takes 
to  portray  a  situation  in  light  wholly  different  from  the  real, 
and  I  am  convinced  of  having  so  much  regard  for  my  fellow- 
men  that  I  do  not  wish  to  be  instrumental  in  deluding 
them  in  any  way."  —  Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  1. 
2,9,11. 

46  Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  6,  7. 

47  It  is  said  that  besides  articles  and  utensils  for  house- 
hold use  the  emigrants  brought  all  sorts  of  machinery,  even 
heavy  farm-wagons.  "Beans  and  peas  proved  to  be  of  most 
value  in  the  following  spring."  —  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis, 
Part  I,  pp.  121,  122.  See  also  Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit 
Pella,  pp.  7,  8. 

48  So  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  memory  has  not  served 
van  Stigt  well  when  he  writes  of  "Columbus"  and  of  a 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  385 

railroad  as  running  from  Harrisburg  to  Johnstown.  There 
was  neither  a  "Columbus"  nor  a  railroad  in  1847.  Winn 
van  Stigt  asserts  that  the  Hollanders  went  to  Earrisburg 
by  canal  he  must  have  meant  "Ilollidaysburg"  because  this 
was  the  western  terminus  of  the  canal  from  Columbia. 
Furthermore,  the  easiest  and  quickest  route  to  Johnstown 
at  that  time  was  the  natural  passage-way  afforded  by  the 
valleys  of  the  Susquehanna  and  Juniata  rivers. 

Nollen,  in  his  memoir,  p.  48,  has  repeated  van  Stigt 's 
account  of  the  itinerary. 

For  a  discussion  of  the  Pennsylvania  Canal  and  Port- 
age Railway,  see  Hulbert's  Historic  Highways,  Vol.  XIII, 
pp.  184,  200,  208-211,  213,  214. 

49  Van  Stigt 's  Geschiedenis,  Part  I,  pp.  122-124;  and 
Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  p.  8. 

50  Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  8,  9;  and  Nollen 's 
Be  Afscheiding,  p.  48. 

CHAPTER  VII 

51  This  entire  chapter  is  based  on  Scholte's  Eene  Stem 
uit  Pella,  pp.  9-13.  See  also  van  Stigt 's  Geschiedenis,  Part 
II,  p.  2;  and  Brummelkamp's  Holland  in  Amerika,  p.  11. 

CHAPTER  VIII 

52  See  van  Raalte's  letter  printed  in  a  pamphlet  pub- 
lished by  A.  Brummelkamp,  Holland  in   Amerika,  of  Be 

Hollandschc  Kolonisatie  in  den  Staal  Michigan,  pp.  8-23. 

53  Brummelkamp's  Holland  in  Amerika,  pp.  34,  35  ;  and 
Scholte's  Een e  Stem  uit  Pella,  p.  5. 

54  Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  p.  3. 


386  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 


55  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  I,  p.  32. 

56  Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  4,  5. 

57  Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  2,  3,  14. 

58  In  his  Pioneers  of  Marion  County,  p.  159,  Donnell 
writes  as  follows:  "Among  other  portions  of  this  conti- 
nent at  first  favorably  thought  of,  was  Texas.  But  after 
obtaining  all  the  information  that  could  be  gathered,  relat- 
ing to  its  geography  and  climate,  it  was  decided  to  be  too 
warm.  Missouri  was  also  had  in  view,  but  the  existence  of 
slavery  there  forbade  its  choice  as  a  location.  Finally  Iowa, 
then  the  youngest  sister  in  the  family  of  states,  was  chosen 
as  the  land  of  refuge." 

Mr.  Cole  in  The  Midland  Monthly,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  120, 
writes :  ' '  While  they  tarried  at  St.  Louis  a  committee  came 
from  Nauvoo,  out  of  which  the  Mormons  had  just  been 
driven,  and  offered  to  sell  that  city  outright.  But  they  had 
come  to  America  to  make  homes  of  their  own. ' ' 

See  also  Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  8,  9;  Nol- 
len's  De  Afscheiding,  p.  48;  and  van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis, 
Part  I,  p.  74.  where  the  writer  states  that  Iowa  had  at- 
tracted attention  when  the  Association  was  formed  at 
Utrecht. 

59  The  right  to  these  lands  was  settled  in  1849  by  a 
decision  of  the  Iowa  Supreme  Court  and  later  affirmed  by 
the  United  States  Supreme  Court.  —  See  Gue's  History  of 
Iowa,  Vol.  I,  pp.  169-172;  and  Greene's  Iowa  Reports,  Vol. 
II,  p.  15. 

60  Ver  Planck  van  Antwerp  was  a  Knickerbocker  by 
birth,  received  his  education  at  West  Point  Military  Acad- 
emy, became  a  government  superintendent  on  the  Cumber- 
land Road,  and  later  was  sent  by  President  Van  Buren  to 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  387 

Burlington,  Iowa,  to  be  Receiver  of  the  Public  Moneys.  In 
December,  1841,  he  became  an  editor  of  The  Iowa  Capitol 
Reporter,  a  democratic  newspaper  at  Iowa  City.  His  ran- 
corous Whig  opponents  called  him  "My  Lord  Pomposity", 
"West  Point  dandy",  "Our  Noble  Lord",  and  "Our  Mod- 
ern Caesar".  See  editorials  in  The  Iowa  City  Standard 
for  December,  1841,  and  an  article  in  the  Iowa  Historical 
Record,  1891-93,  pp.  426-429,  where  the  writer  says :  "Van 
desired  to  be  popular,  was  honest  and  faithful  in  all  the 
trusts  of  his  life,  .  .  .  but  his  style  was  more  amusing 
than  popular." 

61  For  the  sources  consulted  in  preparing  this  chapter 
see  Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  14-19;  van  Stigt's 
Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  pp.  9-17;  and  Nollen's  De  Afscheid- 
ing,  pp.  49-51. 

CHAPTER  IX 

62  Newhall's  A  Glimpse  of  Ioiva  in  1846,  p.  v. 

63  Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  27,  28;  Nollen's 
De  Afscheiding,  p.  51;  and  van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part 
II,  p.  17. 

64  Phillips'  Mahaska  County,  p.  239. 

65  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  pp.  18,  19 ;  and  for 
the  main  facts  of  this  chapter  see  Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit 
Pella,  pp.  27,  28. 

CHAPTER  X 

66  Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  20,  21. 

67  Newhall's  A  Glimpse  of  Iowa  in  1S46,  pp.  40,  44;  and 
Garver's  Boundary  History  of  Iowa  Counties  in  The  Iowa 
Journal  of  History  and  Politics,  Vol.  VII,  pp.  73-75. 


388  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

68  Xewhall's  A  Glimpse  of  Iowa  in  1846,  pp.  46-48. 

09  In  Nollen's  De  Afscheiding,  p.  52,  the  number  of 
acres  is  placed  at  18,000.  based  on  county  records.  In  the 
History  of  Marion  County,  Iowa,  pp.  331-334,  there  is  a  list 
of  land  sales  for  the  year  1847,  and  Hendrik  Peter  Scholte 
and  John  A.  Graham  are  credited  with  the  purchase  of  most 
of  the  land  in  two  townships.  They  could  obtain  land  only 
in  the  even-numbered  sections  because  the  odd-numbered 
sections  had  been  appropriated  for  Des  Moines  River  Im- 
provement in  1846  and  were  not  yet  on  the  market. 

70  See  Scholte 's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  19,  29.  Nollen 
in  De  Afscheiding,  p.  52,  says  of  Scholte:  "Because  he 
lacked  a  competent  book-keeper,  this  was  the  beginning  of 
financial  difficulties,  which  afterward  led  to  much  friction." 

71  Scholte 's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  p.  29.  This  pamphlet 
contains  a  map  which  indicates  the  location  of  the  farms 
which  Scholte  bought  from  the  original  settlers. 

CHAPTEE  XI 

72  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  I,  p.  26;  and  Nollen's 
De  Afscheiding,  p.  51,  where  the  writer  explains  the  mean- 
ing of  the  biblical  name  "Pella".  See  also  Scholte 's  Eene 
Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  28,  29. 

73  See  Burlington  Hawkey  e,  September  or  October, 
1847,  for  an  article  by  J.  B.  Newhall  on  "A  Day  in  Pella.' " 
His  visit  was  made  on  September  17, 1847. 

74  Nollen's  De  Afscheiding,  p.  52;  van  Stigt's  Ge- 
schiedenis,  Part  II,  pp.  20,  21 ;  and  also  pp.  25,  26  of  a  small 
book  published  in  1858,  entitled  De  Hollanders  in  Iowa,  of 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  389 

Brieven  uit  Pella,  written  by  a  man  who  signed  himself 
"Een  Gelderschman",  and  whose  name  is  still  shrouded 
in  mystery.  For  a  popular  account  of  sod-houses  at  Pella, 
see  Donnell's  Pioneers  of  Marion  County,  pp.  161-163. 

75  See  De  Hollanders  in  Iowa,  p.  115;  van  Stigt's  Ge- 
schiedenis, Part  II.  p.  23;  and  Scholte's  Eene  Stem  ait 
Pella,  pp.  21,  29,  30. 

76  De  Hollanders  in  Iowa,  pp.  116,  119. 

77  Dc  Hollanders  in  Iowa,  p.  117;  and  van  Stigt's  Ge- 
schiedenis, Part  II,  p.  41. 

78  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  p.  23  ;  and  Scholte's 
Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  20,  22. 

79  Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  22,  23;  and  van 
Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  p.  49. 

80  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  pp.  48,  53,  54;  and 
Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  24,  31. 

81  Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  p.  24;  and  De  Hol- 
landers in  Iowa,  pp.  170-172,  175,  176. 

82  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  pp.  18,  40,  41 ;  and 
Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  30,  31. 

CHAPTEE  XII 

83  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  pp.  23,  46,  47,  48, 
49,  51,  53,  54;  Nollen's  De  Afscheiding,  p.  53;  and  History 
of  Marion  County,  Iowa,  p.  263. 

84  Nollen's  De  Afscheiding,  pp.  53,  54;  and  van  Stigt's 
Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  pp.  66-68,  71-73. 


390  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

CHAPTEE  XIII 

85  Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  p.  34. 

86  For  a  discussion  of  the  transportation  problem  see  the 
writer's  article  on  The  Roads  and  Highways  of  Territorial 
Iowa  in  The  Iowa  Journal  of  History  and  Politics,  Vol.  Ill, 
pp.  178,  199-203;  van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  p.  70; 
Laws  of  Iowa,  1848,  p.  47;  and  Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit 
Pella,  pp.  24,  25. 

87  United  States  Statutes  at  Large,  Vol.  IX,  p.  77. 

88  Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  21,  25,  26,  27;  also 
Scholte  's  Twcede  Stem,  uit  Pella,  p.  9,  which  was  written  in 
the  month  of  November,  1848  ;  and  van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis, 
Part  II,  pp.  49,  50,  51,  74,  75.  Amsterdam  lay  one  mile 
south  of  a  village  now  called  Howell  Station.  In  1860  the 
site  of  Leerdam  was  surveyed  near  the  Skunk  River  north 
of  Pella,  but  the  town  never  got  any  farther.  Des  Moines 
River  improvement  is  still  considered  feasible.  —  See  The 
Register  and.  Leader  (Des  Moines),  November  29,  1911. 

That  Scholte  and  the  Hollanders  were  intensely  inter- 
ested in  this  project  is  apparent  from  his  petition  to  the 
State  legislature  on  the  subject.  —  See  House  Journal 
(Iowa),  1848,  p.  245. 

89Anvals  of  Iowa,  Third  Series,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  348, 
349,  355;  and  van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  pp.  68-70, 
76.  Mr.  H.  P.  Scholte  of  Pella  doubts  whether  his  father 
had  a  part  in  the  plank-road  scheme,  as  van  Stigt  alleges. 

90  Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  20,  26,  27,  58; 
Shambaugh's  Iowa  City,  pp.  110-116;  House  Journal,  1848, 
p.  245,  and  1850,  pp.  69,  160;  and  Senate  Journal,  1852, 
p.  97. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  391 

CHAPTER  XIV 

91  Brummelkamp 's  Holland  in  Amerika,  pp.  13-16. 
Here  van  Raalte  wrote  that  he  would  not  dare  "to  plant  a 
colony  on  the  prairies,  since  it  demands  too  much  money. 
The  expense  of  importing  lumber  for  the  houses  and 
barns  ....  is  in  general  too  great  for  our  people ;  and 
furthermore  the  rich  farmer  may  feel  at  home  on  the 
prairies,  but  people  trained  in  other  lines  of  work  will  feel 
out  of  place."    See  also  Nollen's  De  Afscheiding,  p.  46. 

92  Brummelkamp 's  Holland  in  Amerika,  pp.  8,  9. 

93Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  4,  19,  42,  44-47; 
and  Tivecde  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  4,  5. 

94  Scholte's  TweedcStem  uit  Pella,  pp.  3,  4,  28,  35. 

95  Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  50-52,  61. 

CHAPTER  XV 

96  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  p.  39 ;  and  Scholte's 
Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  p.  29. 

97  The  voyage  of  the  large  number  of  emigrants  in  1849 
lasted  from  the  first  of  May  until  the  fifteenth  of  June.  On 
board  their  sailing  vessel,  Franziska,  ten  persons  died. 
Among  the  leaders  were  A.  C.  Kuyper,  Jacob  Maasdam,  A. 
E.  D.  Bousquet,  and  John  Hospers.  The  latter  kept  a  diary 
of  the  journey  from  Hoog  Blokland  to  Pella.  which  his  son, 
Nicholas  Hospers,  kindly  lent  to  the  writer. 

In  July,  1852,  the  county  judge  of  Marion  County 
made  a  record  of  the  census.  Of  6289  inhabitants  in  the 
county,  Lake  Prairie  Township  had  1301,  and  of  869  for- 
eign-born persons,  the  same  township  had  802.  —  See  His- 
tory of  Marion  County,  Iowa,  p.  380. 


392  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  pp.  58-65,  71,  77,  84; 
and  Iowa  Historical  and  Comparative  Census,  1836-1880, 
p.  169. 

98  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  pp.  67,  93-109,  and 
Part  III,  pp.  15-29;  Census  of  Iowa,  1856;  and  The  Pella 
Gazette,  May  22,  1856. 

Many  Hollanders  who  came  to  Pella  by  way  of  Keokuk 
during  those  years  well  remember  the  hospitality  of  their 
countrymen  in  that  city,  among  whom  was  Caesar  Obertop. 
This  man  met  incoming  steamboats  at  the  wharf,  conducted 
immigrants  to  his  home,  and  if  they  were  poor,  helped  them 
on  their  way  to  Pella.  He  was  a  general  favorite  at  Keokuk 
for  many  years. 

99  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  III,  pp.  79-93 ;  and  the 
United  States  Census,  1870,  pp.  340,  353,  354.  In  1885 
Jackson  County  had  no  foreign-born  Dutch  at  all,  so  that 
there  is  strong  probability  that  the  number  returned  in  1870 
was  a  printer's  error.  See  also  Donnell's  Pioneers  of  Mar- 
ion County,  p.  165. 

CHAPTEE  XVI 

100  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  pp.  90,  91;  and 
De  Hollanders  in  Iowa,  pp.  118,  119. 

101  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  pp.  39,  55,  80,  and 
Part  III,  pp.  10,  42. 

102  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  p.  87. 

103  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  pp.  33-37,  and 
Part  III,  pp.  3-7. 

104  De  Hollanders  in  Iowa,  pp.  116-142;  The  Pella  Ga- 
zette, April  19,  October  18,  1855,  and  March  15,  May  1, 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  393 

1856;  van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  p.  45;  and  Phillips' 
Mahaska  County,  p.  241. 

105  Parker's  Iowa  Handbook,  pp.  183,  184;  Laws  of 
Iowa,  1858,  p.  195;  van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  III,  pp. 
55,  56;  and  The  Fella  Gazette,  May  3,  1855,  January  17, 
1856,  and  January  22,  1857.  For  Scholte's  interest  in  Des 
Moines  River  improvement  see  The  Pella  Gazette,  January 
22,  1857;  and  for  "railroad"  meetings  to  consider  the  mat- 
ter of  voting  a  county  subscription  see  The  Pella  Gazette, 
April  30  and  May  14,  1857,  and  Pella' s  Weekblad,  January 
7,  July  15,  and  August  10,  17,  and  31,  1871. 

CHAPTER  XVII 

106  De  Hollanders  in  Iowa,  pp.  166,  167 ;  and  Buddingh's 
De  Hervormde  Hollandsche  Kerk  in  de  Vercenigde  Staten 
van  Noord-Amerika,  p.  159. 

107  House  Journal,  1856,  p.  25;  1858,  pp.  32,  62;  1860, 
pp.  68,  69,  75,  77,  266,  418;  1862,  pp.  35,  50,  76;  1864,  p. 
60;  1866,  p.  30;  and  1868,  pp.  39,  146,  324.  See  also  The 
Pella  Gazette,  December  18,  1856,  and  Marcli  11,  1858, 
where  the  editor  urges  that  "the  State  Printer  be  hurried 
up  a  little." 

108  Shambaugh 's  Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the 
Governors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  I,  pp.  430,  459. 

109  Legislative  Documents  (Iowa),  1861-62;  and  Laws  of 
Iowa,  1860,  p.  60. 

The  Society  for  the  Protection  of  Dutch  Immigrants  at 
New  York  City  was  supported  by  voluntary  contributions 
for  many  years  and  finally  ceased  because  the  Hollanders 
were  no  longer  interested.  —  See  Pella' s  Weekblad,  March 
16,  1869. 


394  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

110  Shambauglrs  Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the 
Governors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  Ill,  p.  303 ;  Laws  of  Iowa,  1870,  p. 
33;  and  Legislative  Documents  (Iowa),  1872,  No.  27. 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

111  De  Volksvriend,  September  19,  1895,  p.  8,  where  Mr. 
John  Nollen  signs  himself  "X";  and  De  Hollanders  in 
Iowa,  pp.  166,  167. 

112  De  Volksvriend,  September  19,  1895,  p.  2.  Henry 
Hospers  writes  on  the  emigration  from  Pella  to  Sioux 
County.    See  also  The  Sioux  County  Herald,  July  6,  1876. 

113  Pella's  Weekblad,  January  5,  19,  and  February  16, 
1869 ;  and  De  Volksvriend,  July  23,  1874.  The  committee 
consisted  of  M.  van  Bennett,  K.  van  Klootwijk,  and  "W.  J. 
Kornegoor. 

114  See  H.  J.  van  der  Waa's  story  in  The  Alton  Demo- 
crat, September  3,  1910.  W.  S.  Harlan,  a  land-agent  at  Sac 
City,  advertised  lands  near  Storm  Lake  in  Pella's  Week- 
blad, January  26,  1869. 

115  Pella's  Weekblad,  April  27,  1869. 

116  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  III,  p.  61;  De  Volks- 
vriend, June  25,  1874,  and  September  19,  1895;  and  The 
Alton  Democrat,  September  3,  1910. 

For  the  last  three  paragraphs  see  pp.  102  and  103  of  a 
little  volume  on  Iowa,  in  the  Dutch  language,  written  by  Dr. 
A.  F.  H.  de  Lespinasse  and  printed  in  1875. 

CHAPTER  XIX 

117  For  the  facts  of  this  chapter  see  historical  accounts 
in  the  following  newspapers:    De  Volksvriend,  June  25,  and 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  395 

July  16,  23, 1874,  for  articles  by  Pelmulder ;  and  September 
19,  1895,  for  an  account  by  llospers;  and  The  Alton  I)<  mo- 
crat,  September  3,  1910.  For  contemporary  Pella  events, 
see  Pella' s  Weekblad,  February  23,  March  9,  April  13,  27, 
May  4,  11,  18,  and  June  1,  8,  22,  1869.  See  also  Fulton's 
Free  Lands  in  Iowa,  pp.  45-47. 

CHAPTEK  XX 

118Pella's  Weekblad,  June  29,  and  July  6,  1869;  Dc 
Volksvriend,  July  23,  30,  and  August  6,  1874;  September 
19,  1895 ;  and  The  Alton  Democrat,  September  3,  1910. 

For  the  railroad  grant,  see  United  States  Statutes  at 
Large,  May  12,  1864;  and  L,aws  of  Iowa,  1866,  p.  143. 

For  the  homestead  and  preemption  laws  see  Iowa:  The 
Home  for  Immigrants,  published  by  the  Board  of  Immi- 
gration in  1870,  pp.  59-61. 

CHAPTEK  XXI 

119  Sioux  County  Herald,  July  6,  1876;  and  Pella's 
Weekblad,  September  7,  and  October  5, 1869.  Dr.  M.  Cohen 
Stuart's  Zes  Maanden  in  Amerika  (Six  Months  in  Ameri- 
ca), Part  II,  pp.  23,  24,  where  he  describes  a  journey  from 
Le  Mars  to  Orange  City  in  the  month  of  November,  1873. 
For  a  reprint  of  his  impressions  concerning  Orange  City, 
see  De  Volksvriend,  September  1,  1875. 

120  See  Iowa  Historical  and  Comparative  Casus.  is::ti- 
1880,  pp.  199,  581,  582;  and  The  Sioux  County  Herald, 
July  6,  1876,  where  Jelle  Pelmulder 's  historical  sketch  is 
printed. 

It  is  worthy  of  note  that  Congress  passed  a  joint  reso- 
lution in  March,  1876,  recommending  that  the  people  of  all 
the  States  should  "assemble  in   their  several  counties  or 


396  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

towns  on  the  approaching  Centennial  Anniversary  of  our 
National  Independence"  and  "have  delivered  on  such  day  a 
historical  sketch  of  said  county  or  town  from  its  formation ' ' 
to  he  filed  in  print  or  manuscript  "in  the  office  of  the  Li- 
brarian of  Congress,  to  the  intent  that  a  complete  record 
may  thus  be  obtained  of  the  progress  of  our  institutions 
during  the  First  Centennial  of  their  existence."  —  Gover- 
nor Kirkwood's  proclamation  to  the  people  of  Iowa,  em- 
bodying the  recommendation  of  Congress,  in  Shambaugh's 
Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the  Governors  of  Iowa,  Vol. 
IV,  pp.  310-313. 

CHAPTER  XXII 

121  Pella's  Weekblad,  December  25,  1869;  and  van 
Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  III,  p.  64. 

122  Pella's  Weekblad,  April  30,  1870;  Be  Volksvriend, 
September  19,  1895 ;  The  Alton  Democrat,  September  3, 
1910;  Sioux  Center  Nieuwsblad,  September  7,  1910;  and  an 
article  by  A.  van  der  Meide  in  The  Historical  Atlas  of 
Sioux  County.  The  heads  of  families  are  named  in  The 
Sioux  County  Herald,  July  6,  1876,  and  in  van  Stigt's 
Geschiedenis,  Part  III,  p.  64. 

123  See  Rev.  James  de  Pree's  interesting  article  in  The 
Historical  Atlas  of  Sioux  County. 

124  See  Mr.  A.  van  der  Meide 's  article  mentioned  in  note 
122  supra;  A.  J.  Betten's  article  in  De  Volksvriend,  Sep- 
tember 19,  1895;  and  correspondence  to  Pella's  Weekblad, 
December  28,  1872. 

125  The  name  "Orange"  was  applied  to  townships  in 
Black  Hawk,  Guthrie,  and  Clinton  counties  before  1858. 
Wherever  one  finds  ' '  Orange  "  as  a  geographical  name,  there 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  397 

is  good  reason  to  suspect  the  presence  of  Dutchmen,  but  so 
far  as  can  be  ascertained,  tbe  Hollanders  bad  nothing  to  do 
with  the  naming  of  the  townships  above  referred  to.  —  See 
Iowa  Historical  and  Comparative  Census,  1836-1880,  pp. 
581,  582. 

In  1874  when  an  organization  of  Hollanders  in  the 
Eastern  States  wrote  to  Pella  asking  people  to  send  in  their 
contributions  for  a  present  to  King  William  II  in  honor  of 
his  twenty-five  years  upon  the  throne,  one  Pella  citizen 
scorned  the  idea  and  wrote :  "Don't  come  to  us ! "  Another 
Hollander  answered  him  as  follows :  ' '  Shame !  Pella  people 
could  worship  as  they  liked  in  Holland.  See  how  they  broke 
up  at  Pella  and  how  their  Christian  school  lasted  only 
twenty  years!"  —  Pella's  Weekblad,  February  20,  and 
March  7,  1874. 

126  Pella's  Weekblad,  April  13,  and  June  8,  1869.  The 
name  "New  Holland"  was  later  changed  to  "Hope."  — 
See  Pella's  Weekblad,  February  19,  1870. 

127  For  an  interesting  article,  obviously  written  for  ad- 
vertising purposes,  see  the  Iowa  State  Register,  August  10, 
1870.  For  a  series  of  articles  on  Orange  City  see  Pella's 
Weekblad,  February  25,  March  4,  May  20,  27,  July  1,  15. 
22,  and  August  19,  1871. 

128  Be  Volksvriend,  September  19,  1895. 

129  jpor  statistics  on  agriculture  and  population  see  Cen- 
sus of  Iowa,  1873,  p.  58.  See  also  Pella's  Weekblad,  Sep- 
tember 17,  1870. 

CHAPTEE  XXIII 

130  These  newspapers  were:  De  Heraut,  Het  Nienws 
van  den  Dag,  Provinciate  Friesche  Courant,  De  Wehsten, 


398  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

De  Bazuin,  Hensdensche  C  our  ant,  Haarlemmer  Courant. 
and  Nieuwe  Rotterdamsche  Courant.  Early  in  the  year 
1870  there  had  appeared  in  the  Provinciate  Friesche  Cou- 
rant an  article  on  Sioux  County  by  Jelle  Pelmulder.  —  See 
Pella's  Weckblad,  April  2,  1870. 

131  For  the  complete  report  of  Hospers'  journey  to 
Europe,  see  Legislative  Documents  (Iowa),  1872,  Vol.  II, 
No.  27.  The  pamphlet  mentioned  in  the  report  is  entitled : 
"Ioiva:  the  Home  for  Immigrants". 

132  De  Volksvriend,  October  28,  1875 ;  Iowa  Historical 
and  Comparative  Census,  1836-1880,  p.  198;  and  Pella's 
Weekblad,  August  16,  1871,  where  there  is  an  Orange  City 
news  item  to  the  effect  that  numerous  families  had  arrived 
from  Alto,  Wisconsin. 

133  Dr.  Cohen  Stuart's  remarks  were  reported  in  the 
Nieuwe  Rotterdamsche  Courant  and  reprinted  in  De  Volks- 
vriend, July  23,  1874,  and  in  the  Iowa  State  Register,  Oc- 
tober 31,  1873. 

134  See  the  first  number  of  De  Volksvriend,  issued  on  the 
18th  of  June,  1874.  A  cultivated  farm  of  80  acres,  one- 
quarter  of  a  mile  from  Orange  City  was  offered  for  $25  per 
acre,  and  a  prairie  farm  of  120  acres  near  East  Orange 
station  was  advertised  for  $11  per  acre. 

Hospers  at  one  time  accused  Pella  people  of  hostility 
and  jealousy  and  received  this  answer:  "No!  Honesty  is 
the  best  policy,  and  you  always  set  forth  the  best  and  more 
than  the  best  side  of  things."  —  Pella's  Weekblad,,  October 
10,  1874. 

135  rp^e  little  book  from  which  the  writer  quotes  so  ex- 
tensively is  Dr.  A.  F.  IT.  de  Lespinasse's  Iowa,  pp.  7,  8, 
102,  104. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  399 

336  De  Volksvriend,  August  25,  1875. 

137  De  Volksvriend,  September  30,  November  11,  De- 
cember 9,  1875,  and  March  30,  1876;  and  Pclla's  W(  i  kblad, 
October  7,  1875. 

138  jye  Volksvriend,  November  18,  1875,  and  March  9, 
16,  30.  1876;  and  The  Sioux  County  Herald,  January  27, 
February  17,  and  April  13,  1876.  The  Herald  contained 
the  following  item  of  news:  "Mr.  G.  van  Schelvin,  editor 
of  the  Holland  City  News  purchased  two  tiers  of  sections 
and  returned  to  Michigan  to  put  things  in  shape  for  the 
colony  to  move  on  the  line  of  march  to  Sioux  County.  .  .  . 
The  farmers  around  Holland  will  sell  their  property  and 
come."  Later  it  was  reported  that  two  Michigan  parties 
had  purchased  additional  land:  "Should  the  present 
weather  last,  we  may  look  for  some  of  the  parties  here  in 
three  or  four  weeks.  A  few  are  anxious  to  locate  near 
Orange  City." 

CHAPTER  XXIV 

139  jiQr  agricultural  statistics  of  the  townships  of  Sioux 
County  in  1872  see  Census  of  Iowa,  1873,  p.  58 ;  and  for  a 
general  review  of  the  early  years  see  Mr.  Betten's  article  in 
De  Volksvriend,  September  19,  1895. 

140  In  the  Agricultural  Report  (Iowa),  1873,  there  are 
no  returns  from  Sioux  County,  but  the  report  of  conditions 
in  Plymouth,  O'Brien,  and  Lyon  counties  applies  with  equal 
force  to  conditions  in  Sioux  County.  As  to  the  locust  depre- 
dations of  1873  see  pp.  25-28,  438,  and  439;  and  also  the 
Report  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  1873.  pp. 
155,  156.  The  Historical  Atlas  of  Sioux  County  contains 
articles  by  Rev.  James  de  Pree,  Wm.  Dealy,  A.  van  der 


400  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

Meide,  and  D.  Gleysteen,  to  all  of  whom  the  writer  is  in- 
debted for  much  of  the  material  embodied  in  this  chapter. 
For  an  account  of  donations  by  Pella,  see  Pella's  Weekblad, 
December  27,  1873,  and  January  3,  17,  and  24,  1874. 

1+1  The  Sioux  City  Weekly  Times,  December  6,  1873,  pp. 
1  and  4.  That  Henry  Hospers  aided  the  colonists  very  much 
at  this  time  is  apparent  from  a  news  item  in  the  Iowa  State 
Register,  October  31,  1873:  "On  the  evening  of  the  20th 
the  people  of  the  young  city  called  on  Mr.  Hospers  and 
made  a  public  presentation  to  him  of  a  gold-headed  cane. 
The  cane  was  a  handsome  ebony  cane  with  a  large  gold  head, 
on  which  is  inscribed,  very  neatly,  the  following:  'To  our 
benefactor,  Henry  Hospers,  from  his  Sioux  County  colo- 
nists, 1873'." 

142  Shambaugh's  Messages  and  Proclamations  of  the 
Governors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  IV,  pp.  99,  228. 

li8  Legislative  Documents  (Iowa),  1874,  Vol.  2,  No.  31. 

144  private)  Local  and  Temporary  Laws  of  Iowa,  1874, 
pp.  11,  12. 

145  Sioux  City  Journal,  July  9,  1874;  Census  of  Iowa, 
1875,  pp.  119,  178 ;  The  Historical  Atlas  of  Sioux  County ; 
Agricultural  Report  (Iowa),  1874,  pp.  436,  437,  440;  and 
the  Report  of  the  U.  S.  Department  of  Agriculture,  1874, 
pp.  125,  126. 

146  The  Congressional  Record,  Forty-third  Congress, 
First  Session,  Vol.  2,  Part  5,  p.  4438. 

147  Iowa  State  Register,  October  30,  1874. 

148  De  Volksvriend,  July  30,  October  29,  and  November 
5.  1874,  and  February  13,  1875. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  K>1 

149  The  Sioux  County  Herald,  November  25,  and  Janu- 
ary 27,  1876 ;  and  De  Volksvriend,  November  18,  1875. 

In  his  message  to  the  General  Assembly  in  January. 
1876,  Governor  Carpenter  reported  as  follows:  "The  com- 
mission appointed  to  dispense  the  appropriation  made  by 
your  predecessors  to  purchase  seed  for  farmers  made  desti- 
tute by  the  grasshopper  invasion  in  some  of  the  counties  of 
the  northwest  faithfully  performed  the  duty.  Although 
supplying  all  who  came  within  the  law,  they  returned  $13,- 
786.58  to  the  state  treasury.  This  appropriation,  with  the 
generous  private  donations  made  to  these  people,  both  in 
1873  and  again  in  1874,  when  there  was  another  partial 
destruction  of  crops,  I  have  no  doubt  influenced  5.000  peo- 
ple to  remain  in  the  state  who  but  for  this  generosity  must 
have  left  the  country.  To  this  work  of  charity  General 
Baker  gave  time  and  heart,  and  deserves  mention.  The 
past  season  most  of  these  people  have  harvested  twenty 
bushels  of  wheat  to  the  acre  and  are  now  living  in  compara- 
tive comfort."  —  Shambaugh's  Messages  and  Proclamations 
of  the  Governors  of  Iowa,  Vol.  IV,  p.  168. 

150  por  acCounts  of  the  years  1876-78  see  De  Volks- 
vriend, September  19,  1895;  The  Historical  Atlas  of  Sioux 
County,  and  the  Agricultural  Report  (lowa^,  1876,  pp.  8, 
9,  441 ;  1877,  pp.  442.  443 ;  and  1879,  pp.  24,  26.  Tn  these 
agricultural  reports  Sioux  County  scarcely  receives  men- 
tion —  no  one  seems  to  have  reported  conditions  there,  but 
the  state  of  affairs  in  neighboring  counties  was  practically 
the  same. 

CHAPTER  XXV 

151  Iowa  Historical  and  Comparative  Census,  1836-1880, 
p.  581. 


402  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

152  Census  of  Iowa,  1873,  pp.  58,  97;  and  Iowa  State 
Register,  August  10,  1870. 

ir'3  The  Gate  City  (Keokuk),  June  17,  1874;  and  De 
Volksvriend,  July  16,  23,  30,  August  6,  and  October  29, 
1874. 

154  De  Volksvriend,  September  19,  1895 ;  and  Laws  of 
Iowa,  1868,  pp.  126-128.  Considering  the  ruthless  destruc- 
tion of  the  nation's  forests  everywhere  and  the  rapidly  in- 
creasing demand  for  lumber,  it  was  believed  that  encourage- 
ment by  the  State  by  means  of  bounties  would  result  in  the 
gradual  reproduction  of  timber  tracts.  The  act  of  the 
legislature  was  hailed  with  general  satisfaction. 

This  State  Law  also  empowered  county  boards  of  super- 
visors at  any  time  to  exempt  from  taxation,  except  for 
State  purposes,  the  real  or  personal  property  of  each  tax- 
payer who  should  plant  and  suitably  cultivate  one  or  more 
acres  of  forest  trees  to  an  amount  not  exceeding  $500  for 
each  acre,  and  the  board  might  fix  the  minimum  number  of 
trees  which  should  be  grown  on  each  acre.  And  a  similar 
exemption  was  to  be  made  for  every  half-mile  of  hedge,  for 
every  mile  of  shade  trees  along  the  public  highway,  and  for 
every  acre  of  fruit  trees.  See  also  Brindley's  History  of 
Taxation  in  Iowa,  Vol.  I,  pp.  262-264. 

155  Laws  of  Iowa,  1868,  p.  202;  Agricultural  Report 
(Iowa),  1870,  p.  19,  and  1871,  p.  434;  and  De  Volksvriend, 
June  18,  1875. 

156  jye  Yolksvriend,  September  19,  1895 ;  and  The  His- 
torical Atlas  of  Sioux  County,  Mr.  Gleysteen's  article. 

157  De  Volksvriend,  August  25,  and  September  9,  16, 
1875.     September  9,  1873,  was  the  date  of  the  first  excur- 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  403 

sion.    See  Pclla's  Weekblad,  August  16,  23,  30,  September 
6,  20,  October  4,  18,  and  November  1,  1873. 

158  For  a  history  of  these  townships  see  Iowa  Historical 
and  Comparative  Census,  1836-1880,  p.  581,  or  tbe  V  nil  id 
States  Census,  1880,  Vol.  I,  p.  170;  and  also  The  Historical 
Atlas  of  Sioux  County.  The  names  "Welcome"  and 
" Capel' '  are  said  to  have  been  suggested  by  John  van  den 
Berg  and  M.  P.  van  Oosterhout,  respectively. 

159Corwin's  Manual,  pp.  935-1044. 

160  United  States  Census,  1880,  Vol.  1,  pp.  170,  507. 

161  Legislative  Documents  (Iowa),  1882,  Vol.  I,  No.  11. 

162  Report  of  the  Board  of  Railroad  Commissioners  of 
Iowa,  1879,  p.  206.  See  also  Census  of  Iowa,  1885,  pp.  69, 
175. 

103  Jan  van  't  Lindenhout's  Zes  Weken  tusschen  de 
Widen,  of  De  Hollanders  in  Amerika,  p.  173.  The  frontis- 
piece is  a  likeness  of  Rev.  S.  Bolks,  the  first  regular  Dutch 
Reformed  minister  in  Sioux  County. 

164  United  States  Census,  1890,  Vol.  I,  pp.  157,  485;  and 
Census  of  Iowa,  1895,  pp.  149,  307. 

165  De  Volksvriend,  September  19,  1895,  contains  contri- 
butions on  all  these  and  various  other  subjects. 

CHAPTER  XXVI 

166  United  States  Census,  1870,  Vol.  I,  p.  353.  Jackson 
County  could  lay  claim  to  746  foreign-born  Hollanders,  but 
the  writer  believes  this  number  was  misplaced  when  the 
census  returns  were  printed.  At  any  rate,  the  county  had 
almost  no  Dutch  later  on. 


404  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

167  Rev.  John  Schaefer  of  Alexander,  Iowa,  informed  the 
writer  that  so  far  as  he  was  acquainted  with  the  congrega- 
tions of  his  Classis  of  the  Dutch  Reformed  Church  the 
people  were  nearly  all  Germans. 

108  Pella's  Weekblad,  January  8,  and  February  26,  1870. 
Mt.  Carmel  in  Carroll  County  was  advertised  in  Pella's 
Weekblad,  June  1,  1872. 

169  For  these  statistics  see  Iowa  Historical  and  Compar- 
ative Census,  1836-1880,  pp.  169,  170;  and  Census  Reports 
of  Iowa,  1885,  p.  175 ;  1895,  pp.  307,  330-333;  and  1905,  pp. 
517-520. 

170  The  writer  is  indebted  to  Mr.  Henry  P.  Scholte,  a 
son  of  the  founder  of  Pella,  for  estimates  as  to  the  amount 
of  land  owned  by  Hollanders  in  the  various  townships  of 
Marion  and  adjacent  counties. 

171  The  Register  and  Leader  (Des  Moines),  July  28, 
1909. 

172  Pella's  Weekblad,  August  12,  19,  1871,  and  Decem- 
ber 1,  1911. 

173  See  note  169,  above,  and  also  United  States  Summary 
of  Commerce  and  Finance,  June,  1903,  p.  4,381. 

174  These  estimates  as, to  the  strength  of  the  Dutch  in 
the  townships  of  Sioux  County  are  based  on  the  tax-books 
and  are  furnished  by  Mr.  Herman  Te  Paske  of  Orange  City, 
Iowa. 

175  Rev.  James  de  Pree  of  Sioux  Center,  Iowa,  believes 
that  these  communities  attracted  most  of  Sioux  County's 
Dutch  emigrants,  and  bases  his  judgment  on  a  thirty  years' 
acquaintance  with  northwestern  Iowa. 

170  The  Boston  Herald,  March  19,  1911. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  405 

CHAPTER  XXVII 

177  Seholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Telia,  pp.  12,  13,  39,  44.  45. 

17&  Seholte's  Tweede  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  21,  22.  On  pp. 
16  and  17  he  discusses  the  national  debt  of  Holland. 

179  Seholte's  Eene  Stem  nit  Pella,  pp.  2,  3,  12. 

180  Seholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  31,  32,  and  p.  56, 
where  an  article  from  The  Burlington  Hawk-Eye  is  re- 
printed. 

181  Laws  of  Iowa,  January,  1848,  p.  16;  and  Seholte's 
Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  32-34,  61,  62.  See  also  Senate 
Journal,  1847-48,  pp.  19,  24;  and  Donnell's  Pioneers  of 
Marion  County,  p.  163.  As  to  the  right  of  suffrage  in  the 
State  of  Iowa,  see  the  Constitution  of  1846,  Article  III. 

18-  Seholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  33,  34;  and  Bud- 
dingh's  De  Hervormde  Holland sche  Kerk  in  dc  Yereenigde 
Staten  van  Noord-Amerika  (1852),  p.  115. 

183  Seholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  26,  27;  and 
Seholte's  Tweede  Stem  uit  Pella,  p.  9. 

184  Seholte's  Tweede  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  3,  10.  It  is  a 
noteworthy  fact  that  the  Hollanders  elected  officers  accord- 
ing to  the  law  of  February  17,  1842,  which  had  been  so  far 
repealed  in  1845  that  trustees  were  to  be  overseers  of  the 
poor  and  also  fence-viewers.  —  See  Laws  of  Iowa.  May, 
1845,  pp.  27-30. 

185  Seholte's  Tweede  Stem  uit  Pella,  p.  11;  and  van 
Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  p.  45. 

186  See  House  Journal  1848-49,  pp.  245,  368,  392:  and 
Senate  Journal  1848  49,  p.  212.  Also  Laws  of  Iowa,  1848- 
49,  p.  112;  and  Seholte's  Tweedi  Stem  uit  Pella,  p.  11. 


406  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

187  Scholte's  Twecde  Stem  uit  Pella,  p.  12. 

188  De  Hollanders  in  Iowa,  pp.  122,  123. 

189  Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  1,  40. 

190  Scholte's  Tweede  Stem  uit  Pella,  p.  2;  and  Scholte's 
Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  39,  41. 

CHAPTEE  XXVIII 

191  See  Dr.  Louis  Pelzer's  The  History  and  Principles 
of  the  Democratic  Party  of  Iowa,  1846-1857,  in  The  Iowa 
Journal  of  History  and,  Politics,  Vol.  VI,  pp.  163-246. 

192  The  Dutch  could  not  have  voted  until  the  presidential 
election  of  November,  1852.  The  number  of  votes  then  cast 
in  Lake  Prairie  Township  was  even  less  than  the  number 
cast  in  the  county  election  of  August,  1852.  The  number 
of  votes  polled  at  the  State  election  of  1854  was  just  about 
the  same  as  that  at  the  election  of  August,  1852.  —  See 
History  of  Marion  County,  Iowa,  pp.  418-421. 

193  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  I,  p.  37;  Annals  of 
Iowa,  Vols.  VIII-IX,  p.  587;  and  Donnell's  Pioneers  of 
Marion  County,  pp.  110-112. 

19iThe  Pella  Gazette,  February  1,  1855.  Mr.  H.  P. 
Scholte  of  Pella  has  the  files  of  his  father's  newspaper. 

195  De  Hollanders  in  Iowa,  p.  130. 

196  The  Pella  Gazette,  May  3,  and  August  23  and  30, 
1855;  and  van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  pp.  81,  82. 

197  The  Pella  Gazette,  July  19  and  August  9,  1855. 

198  House  Journal,  1850,  pp.  69,  160;  Senate  Journal, 
1852,  p.  97;  van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  III,  pp.  7,  8; 
and  The  Pella  Gazette,  August  16,  23,  1855. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  407 

199  History  of  Marion  County,  Iowa,  pp.  626-630;  and 
Pella's  Weekblad,  March  11,  and  October  7,  1871. 

200  The  Pella  Gazette,  May  17,  1855,  April  17  and  June 
5,  12,  26,  1856,  and  February  18,  1858.  The  following  edi- 
torial appeared  on  February  18,  1858: 

Native  puppyism  was  never  better  illustrated  than  by  i  lie  measure 
now  proposed.  It  is  a  narrow  mind  indeed  that  cannot  devise  a  law 
to  preserve  the  purity  of  elections,  without  exposing  naturalized  citi- 
zens to  repeated  insults.  The  proposed  outrage  will  sink  deep  into 
the  minds  of  the  Hollanders,  and  they  will  take  care  to  resent  it. 

It  is  a  strange  delusion  that  Republican  ideas  flourish  only  in 
the  empty  heads  of  Know-Nothing  demagogues,  and  are  things  un- 
heard of  on  the  other  side  of  the  Atlantic.  Are  they  Know-Nothings 
de  facto  to  such  as  not  to  know,  that  the  ancestors  of  the  Holland 
settlers  fought  and  bled  eighty  years  for  Republican  principles,  long 
before  the  very  dawn  of  American  independence?  Is  it  news  to 
them  that  there  was  a  time  when  the  navy  of  that  small  but  gallant 
Republic,  made  the  English  Lion  tremble  in  his  very  lair,  and  burned 
the  English  men-of-war  within  sight  of  the  English  capital?  Did 
they  never  hear  of  William  III,  who,  as  stadtholder  of  the  United 
Netherlands  and  King  of  England,  laid  the  foundation  of  that  civil 
and  religious  liberty,  which  is  yet  the  boast  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  race? 

The  Hollanders  were  nursed  and  cradled  under  the  enjoyment 
of  Republican  liberty  for  centuries;  and  those  who  have  made  [owa 
their  home,  by  choice,  will  not,  without  a  remonstrance,  submit  to 
the  ignominy  of  begging  for  a  vote  at  the  polls,  with  paper  rays  in 
their  pockets,  and  upon  the  delivery  of  four  subsequent  oaths,  at 
the  pleasure  of  any  Know-Nothing  demagogue  that  may  choose  to 
challenge  them ! 

It  was  reported  by  various  newspapers  in  Iowa  that 
H.  P.  Scholte,  the  head  man  of  the  Hollanders  in  .Marion 
County,  had  left  the  Democrats  and  joined  the  Republicans. 
An  Indiana  editor  heard  of  it  and  wrote:  ''(Had  to  hear 
it.  We  worked  for  the  Old  Gentleman  while  in  the  land  of 
'Prairie-grass'  and  'Buffalo-chips',  and  esteemed  him  very 
highly.     We  are  glad  to  hear  that  a  man  of  his  talents  and 


408  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 


education  has  joined  the  Republicans  of  that  young  and 
growing  State.  He  is  now  where  he  should  have  been  long 
ago,  and  where  we  think  he  really  was  in  sentiment  some 
time  since. ' '  —  The  Burlington  Weekly  Hawk-Eye,  July  30, 
1859. 

201  The  Telia  Gazette,  June  26,  July  24,  August  7,  14, 
and  November  6,  1856.  The  Nieuwsbode,  published  at 
Sheboygan,  Wisconsin,  was  read  by  many  Hollanders  at 
Pella. 

202  The  Pella  Gazette,  April  30,  and  August  6, 13,  1857. 

203  Senate  Journal,  1858,  p.  121 ;  and  The  Burlington 
Weekly  Hawk-Eye,  June  28,  1859. 

204  The  Pella  Gazette,  July  22,  1859 ;  and  The  Burling- 
ton Weekly  Hawk-Eye,  July  30,  1859. 

205  The  Pella  Gazette,  December  7,  1859 ;  Iowa  City  Re- 
publican, January  25,  1860;  and  The  Burlington  Weekly 
Hawk-Eye,  November  3,  1860. 

206  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  I,  p.  37,  and  Part  III, 
p.  44 ;  Census  of  Iowa,  1869,  p.  261. 

207  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  III,  p.  46. 

208  Certain  Americans  at  Pella  were  notoriously  active 
' '  Copperheads"  and  after  the  war  were  bold  enough  to  pub- 
lish a  newspaper  called  The  Copperhead.  They  held  a  con- 
vention on  July  10,  1861,  and  passed  the  following  resolu- 
tion: 

Under   the   administration  of   President  Lincoln,   we  behold   our 
beloved  country  distracted  at  home,  and  disgraced  abroad. 
Commerce  paralyzed! 
Trade  annihilated ! 
Coasts  blockaded! 
Eivers  shut  up! 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  409 

The  Constitution  trampled  under  foot! 

Citizens  imprisoned! 

Laws   suspended ! 

Legislatures  overawed  by  bayonets! 

Debts  repudiated  and 

States  invaded  and  dismembered! 

See  Byers'  Iowa  in  War  Times,  p.  50;  and  Donnell's 
Pioneers  of  Marion  County,  p.  117.  See  also  van  Stint's 
Geschiedenis,  Part  III,  pp.  45-54.  For  the  names  of  Hol- 
land-born members  of  Iowa  Regiments,  the  writer  searched 
through  the  reports  of  the  Adjutant-General  of  Iowa, 
1861-65. 

209  Donnell's  Pioneers  of  Marion  County,  pp.  114,  116; 
Pella's  WeekMad,  March  23,  1869;  Census  of  Iowa,  1867,  p. 
230;  1869,  p,  261;  1873,  p.  77;  1875,  p.  485;  1880,  p.  642; 
1885,  p.  381 ;  and  for  subsequent  election  returns  see  the 
numbers  of  the  Iowa  Official  Register  from  1887  to  1910. 

Political  speeches  in  Dutch  have  occasionally  been  de- 
livered in  country  school-houses. 

210  History  of  Marion  County,  Iowa,  pp.  425-427 ;  Don- 
nell's  Pioneers  of  Marion  County,  p.  94;  Phillips'  Mahaska 
County,  p.  242;  Census  of  Iowa,  1866,  p.  163;  1873,  p.  144; 
Pella's  WeekMad,  September  28,  and  October  5,  12,  19, 
1869;  and  October  19,  26,  and  November  2.  9,  1872.  The 
Hollanders  found  that  one  of  their  number  was  a  very  use- 
ful and  helpful  man  to  have  at  the  county  seat  whenever 
they  had  any  official  business  to  transact.  The  editorial 
page  of  the  issue  of  October  12,  1869,  was  full  of  single-line 
exhortations  such  as  "All  come  out  and  vote",  and  "Vote 
for  Henry  Hospers. ' '  See  also  Pella  Nieuwsblad,  November 
3,  1899 ;  and  the  numbers  of  the  Iowa  Official  Register  from 
1888  to  1911.  For  the  names  of  officers  since  1880  the 
writer  is  indebted  to  Mr.  Meyer  Langerak,  Knoxville,  Iowa. 


410  THE  HOLLANDERS  OP  IOWA 

For  notice  of  the  death  of  Mr.  McCully  see  House  Journal 
(Iowa),  1898,  p.  667. 

CHAPTER  XXIX 

211  De  Volksvriend,  September  19,  1895 ;  and  The  Iowa 
State  Register,  October  25, 1901.  Also  The  Historical  Atlas 
of  Sioux  County;  and  The  Des  Moines  Weekly  Leader,  Oc- 
tober 24,  1901.  See  especially  Pelmulder's  correspondence 
to  Fella's  Weekblad,  January  27,  and  February  2,  10,  17, 
1872.  Both  Pelmulder  and  Hospers  declared  this  was  not 
the  work  of  a  mob. 

212  Census  of  Iowa,  1873,  pp.  144,  147. 

213  De  Volksvriend,  September  19,  1895;  Legislative 
Documents  (Iowa),  1874,  Vol.  2,  p.  5 ;  and  The  Sioux  City 
Tribune,  October  22,  24,  1901. 

214  De  Volksvriend,  September  19,  1895,  Mr.  Betten's 
article;  and  Telia's  Weekblad,  June  25,  1870. 

215  De  Volksvriend,  June  18,  1874. 

216  De  Volksvriend,  September  1,  and  October  10,  21, 
1875. 

217  Census  of  Iowa,  1875,  pp.  452,  456,  493 ;  1885,  p.  390. 
See  also  the  Iowa  Official  Register  from  1887  to  1910. 

218  The  writer  is  indebted  to  Mr.  Herman  Te  Paske  of 
Orange  City,  Iowa,  for  these  statistics.  See  also  the  Iowa 
Official  Register  from  1887  to  1912.  Of  the  nine  county 
officials  besides  the  supervisors,  five  were  Hollanders  in 
1912.  Americans,  however,  have  always  received  the  sup- 
port of  Dutch  voters.  Hollanders  have  been  equally  strong 
in  municipal  politics  and  school  elections. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  411 

219  De  Vrijc  Hollander,  October  13,  1899,  and  April  6, 
1900.  Pella's  Weekblad,  March  27,  1903,  made  political 
capital  of  Roosevelt's  display  of  favoritism  towards  the 
English.  The  editor  ridiculed  Republicans  for  supporting 
Roosevelt  and  referred  to  his  Dutch  blood  thus:  "Half 
Irish,  all  American,  one  fourth  English,  half  Dutch,  some 
Polish  or  Hungarian,  and  some  French  and  German  — 
that 's  Roosevelt ! ' ' 

220  De  Vrije  Hollander,  November  8,  and  December  6, 
19,  1901. 

221  The  Sioux  City  Tribune,  October  22,  24,  1901.  See 
also  Iowa  Official  Register,  1911-32,  p.  92;  and  The  Des 
Moines  Weekly  Leader,  October  24,  1901. 

222  Iowa  Official  Register,  1911-12,  pp.  594,  621. 

CHAPTEK  XXX 

223  The  Pella  Gazette,  February  1  and  May  17,  1855, 
and  May  15,  1856.  This,  with  the  exception  of  one  at  Coun- 
cil Bluffs,  was  said  to  be  the  westernmost  newspaper  in  Iowa 
in  1855. 

224  De  Hollanders  in  Iowa,  pp.  130,  131. 

223  This  notice  was  run  for  several  issues  after  February 
1,  1855. 

226  De  Hollanders  in  Iowa,  p.  131;  and  The  Pella  Ga- 
zette, August  14,  1856,  and  January  29,  1857. 

227  The  Pella  Gazette,  September  24,  1857.  See  The 
Burlington  Weekly  Hawk-Eye,  July  21,  August  25,  Sep- 
tember 1,  8,  15,  29,  October  6,  20,  27,  and  December  15,  29, 
I860:  and  The  Keokuk  Gate  City,  August  15,  1860. 


412  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

228  The  share-holders  were :  John  Hospers,  Jacob  de 
Haan,  Henry  Hospers,  G.  van  Houwelingen,  P.  M.  van  der 
Ley,  A.  C.  Kuyper,  Isaac  Overkamp,  William  van  Asch,  J. 
Akkerman,  and  A.  Duinink.  —  See  van  Stigt  's  Geschiedenis, 
Part  III,  pp.  37,  38;  and  also  Fella's  Weekblad,  April  16, 
1870. 

229  Van  Stigt 's  Geschiedenis,  Part  III,  p.  42. 

230  Donnell's  Pioneers  of  Marion  County,  pp.  114,  115; 
and  van  Stigt 's  Geschiedenis,  Part  III,  p.  69. 

231  Van  Stigt 's  Geschiedenis,  Part  I,  pp.  41,  42,  65. 

232Pella's  Weekblad,  March  23,  1869;  van  Stigt's  Ge- 
schiedenis, Part  III,  p.  38;  and  Donnell's  Pioneers  of  Mar- 
ion County,  p.  116. 

233  Pella's  Weekblad,  January  11,  26,  1869,  and  June  25, 
1870;  Donnell's  Pioneers  of  Marion  County,  pp.  68-70;  and 
The  History  of  Marion  County,  Iowa,  p.  638. 

Unfortunately  the  existing  files  of  Pella's  Weekblad 
cover  only  the  years  1869-1873.  Mr.  Johnson,  the  present 
editor,  also  has  files  of  Pella's  Nieuwsblad  and  Pella's  Week- 
blad since  February  10,  1899. 

234  De  Volksvriend,  June  18, 1874,  and  October  28, 1875. 
Mr.  A.  J.  Betten  of  Orange  City,  Iowa,  owns  the  files  of 
De  Volksvriend  covering  the  early  years. 

235  De  Volksvriend,  December  3,  1874,  and  November  18, 
1875. 

236  rpjie  wr}ter  is  indebted  to  the  editors  mentioned  in 
this  chapter  for  much  information. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  413 

CHAPTER  XXXI 

237Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  33,  45;  van 
Raalte's  Landverhuizing,  pp.  16,  19;  and  Brummelkamp 's 
Stemmen  uit  Noord-Amerika,  p.  17. 

238  Van  Raalte's  Landverhuizing,  pp.  8, 16,  17. 

239  Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  35,  36,  37. 

240  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  pp.  82-84. 

241  Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  p.  55,  and  Scholte's 
Tweede  Stem  uit  Pella,  p.  11. 

242  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  p.  31,  and  Part 
III,  p.  60;  Scholte's  Tweede  Stem  uit  Pella,  p.  11 ;  and  Re- 
port of  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  (Iowa),  1850, 
p.  94. 

243  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  p.  84. 

244  The  Pella  Gazette,  April  19,  1855. 

245  The  Pella  Gazette,  February  1,  1855;  and  Be  Hol- 
landers in  loxva,  pp.  125-129. 

246  The  Pella  Gazette,  January  17,  and  May  1,  1856. 

247  The  Pella  Gazette,  January  8,  1857. 

248  The  Pella  Gazette,  March  25,  1858. 

249  The  Pella  Gazette,  April  28,  1858. 

CHAPTER  XXXII 

250  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  III,  pp.  107,  110,  127. 

251Dosker's  Levensschets  van  Ds.  A.  C.  van  Raalte,  D. 
D.,  pp.  181-194;  and  The  Pella  Gazette,  December  6,  1855. 


414  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

252  The  Banner  (Grand  Rapids,  Michigan),  Vol.  46,  pp. 
71-76;  and  Be  Vrijc  Hollander,  July  3,  17,  1903.  The 
writer  secured  much  information  also  from  the  Principal, 
Mr.  C.  Aue.  The  school  property  at  Orange  City  is  valued 
at  $5;250. 

That  the  advocacy  of  Christian  education  is  not  a  pro- 
duct of  American  conditions  but  was  introduced  from  Hol- 
land is  apparent  from  the  following : 

"In  1857,  under  the  influence  of  the  liberals  and  the 
Romanists,  the  government  banished  religious  instruction 
from  the  schools,  and  in  1876  abolished  the  theological  facul- 
ties in  the  universities,  but  granted  funds  to  the  National 
Synod  for  special  theological  instruction.  When  rational- 
ists secured  these  professorships  the  orthodox  party  estab- 
lished a  Free  Reformed  University  at  Amsterdam  (1880). 
The  same  party  has  established  free  schools  all  over  Hol- 
land, in  which  evangelical  religion  is  taught. ' '  —  Corwin  's 
Manual,  p.  13. 

253  rpj^  vajue  0f  j-hg  sch00i  property  at  Sioux  Center 
and  that  of  ' '  The  Hope  School ' '  is  estimated  at  $6,500  and 
$1,200  respectively.  —  See  The  Banner  (Grand  Rapids, 
Michigan),  Vol.  46,  pp.  108,  401. 

In  1911,  schools  maintained  by  parents,  members  of  the 
Christian  Reformed  Church  in  America,  numbered  133, 
with  172  teachers,  and  6843  pupils,  at  an  annual  cost  of 
$96,000,  and  with  property  valued  at  $227,800.  —  See  The 
Banner  (Grand  Rapids,  Michigan),  Vol.  46,  pp.  71-76. 

Bella's  Weekblad,  December  1,  1911. 

254  Report  of  the  Superintendent  of  Buolic  Instruction 
(Iowa),  1910,  pp.  200,  203;  and  The  Banner  (Grand  Rap- 
ids, Michigan),  Vol.  46,  p.  264. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  415 

chapter  xxxiii 

255  Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Education 
(Iowa),  1861,  Appendices,  pp.  35,  36,  91;  Biennial  Report 
of  the  Superintendent  of  Public  Instruction  (Iowa),  1865, 
pp.  64,  65;  and  Iowa  Historical  and  Comparative  Census, 
1836-1880,  p.  537. 

CHAPTER  XXXIV 

2™  The  Pella  Gazette,  July  12,  1855 ;  Catalogue  of  Cen- 
tral University,  1911,  p.  5.  See  also  Clarkson's  A  Beautiful 
Life,  pp.  79-94,  for  a  brief  history  of  the  college. 

257Nollen's  De  Afschciding,  pp.  59,  60. 

258  The  Pella  Gazette,  August  9,  1855,  and  April  22, 
1858;  and  van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  p.  87. 

259  Clarkson's  A  Beautiful  Life,  p.  79. 

260  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  III,  pp.  107,  110;  and 
Iowa  Official  Register,  1911-12,  p.  823. 

261  Clarkson's  A  Beautiful  Life,  pp.  86,  88,  89. 

John  Nollen  and  Henry  G.  Nollen  have  been  conspicu- 
ous figures  in  the  realm  of  education  and  art  at  Pella.  The 
former  was  once  a  private  teacher  of  mathematics,  natural 
science,  French,  German,  and  vocal  and  instrumental  music, 
while  his  brother  was  a  portrait  painter.  See  their  pro- 
fessional advertisements  in  The  Pella  Gazette,  February  1, 
1855.  See  also  the  Catalogue  of  Central  University,  1911  ; 
and  van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  p.  90. 

CHAPTER  XXXV 

262  De  Volksvriend,  September  19,  1895;  and  Pella's 
Weehblad,  February  17,  1872.     See  also  De  Volksvriend, 


416  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 


January  7,  February  13,  September  30,  and  October  28, 
1875. 

263Dosker's  Levensschets  van  Ds.  A.  C.  van  Raalte,  D. 
D.,  p.  181 ;  and  De  Volksvriend,  September  19,  1895. 

264  Mr.  Gleysteen's  article  in  The  Historical  Atlas  of 
Sioux  County.  Mr.  Hospers  continued  to  aid  the  academy 
until  his  death.    See  De  Vrije  Hollander,  January  12,  1900. 

265  This  chapter  is  based  on  the  Catalogue  of  Northwest- 
ern Classical  Academy,  1909-1910;  articles  in  De  Volks- 
vriend, September  19,  1895,  and  The  Historical  Atlas  of 
Sioux  County;  and  Minutes  of  the  General  Synod  of  the 
Reformed  Church  in  America,  1909. 

CHAPTEE  XXXVI 

266  Scholte's  Eene  Stem-  uit  Telia,  p.  35. 

267  Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Fella,  p.  35;  Nollen's  De 
Afscheiding,  p.  59;  and  van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II, 
pp.  111-114, 123. 

268  Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  13,  14,  34-36. 

269  Scholte's  Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  p.  37;  Scholte's 
Tweede  Stem  uit  Pella,  pp.  13-15 ;  and  van  Stigt's  Geschied- 
enis, Part  II,  p.  121. 

270  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  pp.  116,  122,  124; 
and  Nollen's  De  Afscheiding,  p.  59. 

271  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  pp.  124,  125 ;  and 
Nollen's  De  Afscheiding,  p.  62. 

272  Nollen's  De  Afscheiding,  pp.  61-63;  van  Stigt's  Ge- 
schiedenis, Part  II,  pp.  125,  126;  and  Clarke's  Iowa  Re- 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  417 


ports,  Vol.  II,  p.  27.  Pella's  Garden  Square  came  to  the 
attention  of  the  Supreme  Court  in  1869,  as  is  shown  in  Iowa 
Reports,  Vol.  XXX,  in  the  case  of  Fisher  et  al.  v.  Scholte. 

273  The  Pella  Gazette,  January  8,  1857;  and  Pella's 
Weekblad,  December  7,  and  13,  1869. 

This  interesting  little  house  of  worship  of  1855  was 
abandoned  in  1910.  (See  Pella's  Weekblad,  January  12, 
1910.)  When  the  writer  visited  Pella  in  November,  1911, 
the  building  was  being  used  as  a  skating-rink  and  basket- 
ball court  by  the  young  people  of  Pella.  Its  roof  was  Bag- 
ging in,  its  sides  were  bulging  out,  and  its  chimney  was  di- 
lapidated. 

When  the  people  of  Utrecht,  Holland,  in  1909  tore  down 
the  church  in  which  Scholte  once  preached,  they  preserved 
the  pulpit  and  sent  it  to  Pella.  This  interesting  relic 
seemed  to  possess  no  sentimental  value  to  the  citizens  of 
Pella,  for  they  donated  it  to  the  Historical  Department  at 
Des  Moines. 

Van  Stigt's  Gcschiedenis,  Part  II,  p.  127,  and  Part  III, 
pp.  131-139;  and  Nollen's  Be  Afscheiding,  pp.  61.  66. 

CHAPTER  XXXVTI 

274  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  I,  pp.  32,  33 ;  Scholte 's 
Eene  Stem  uit  Pella,  p.  59;  Nollen's  De  Afscheiding,  pp. 
55-58 ;  and  Dosker's  Levensschets  van  Ds.  A.  C.  van  Raalte, 
D.  D.,  p.  52. 

275  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  p.  128,  and  Part 
III,  p.  102;  and  Nollen's  De  Afscheiding,  pp.  64,  65. 

276  Van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  II,  pp.  95,  98,  108, 
109.  The  second  Baptist  church  at  Pella  held  services  in 
English  at  11  and  4  o'clock.    There  were  also  congregations 


418  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

of  Methodists  and  Congregationalists  in  Pella.  See  an- 
nouncement of  church  services  in  The  Pella  Gazette,  Sep- 
tember 14,  1859. 

277  Nollen's  De  Afscheiding,  p.  65. 

278Corwin's  Manual,  pp.  935-1044.  See  also  Pella' s 
Weekblad,  March  30,  May  4,  11,  November  2,  16,  and  De- 
cember 7,  13,  1869. 

At  Pella  there  is  a  small  one-story  frame  building  with 
large  white  wooden  cross.  Roman  Catholics  at  Pella  dedi- 
cated this  little  building  in  May,  1869.  Father  Krekel  who 
was  able  to  speak  some  Dutch  took  charge  of  a  congrega- 
tion of  forty  members.  Services  are  still  held  at  long  in- 
tervals by  a  priest  who  comes  from  Oskaloosa  to  minister  to 
two  or  three  families  of  Irish. 

See  also  van  Stigt's  Geschiedenis,  Part  III,  pp.  101, 
102,  119. 

279  Corwin's  Manual,  pp.  935-1044;  and  Minutes  of  the 
General  Synod  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  America,  1910, 
p.  803. 

280  Van 't  Lindenhout's  Zes  Weketi  tusschcn  de  Wielen. 
Rev.  Bolks  was  president  of  the  Classis  of  Holland,  Michi- 
gan, which  sent  a  commissioner  to  Albany  in  1850  to  ask  to 
be  received  into  the  Reformed  Church  of  America.  —  Cor- 
win's  Manual,  pp.  139,  335;  and  Pella' s  Weekblad,  August 
16.  1871. 

281  Rev.  de  Pree's  and  Gleysteen's  articles  in  The  His- 
torical Atlas  of  Sioux  County.  See  also  Stuart's  Zes  Maan- 
den  in  Amerika,  Part  II,  pp.  25-27;  and  Buddingh's  De 
Hollandsche  Hervormde  Kerk  in  de  Vereenigdc  Stat  en  van 
Noord-Amerika  (1852),  pp.  105,  159. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  419 

282  Corwin's  Manual,  pp.  985-1044;  and  Minutes  <>)'  the 
Genera!  Synod  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  America,  1910, 
pp.  781,  787. 

The  Reformed  Church  in  America  has  congregations  at 
Parkersburg  and  Aplington  in  Butler  County,  Ackley  in 
Hardin  County,  Belmond  in  Wright  County.  Titonka  in 
Kossuth  County,  Buffalo  Center  in  Winnebago  County, 
Chapin  and  Alexander  in  Franklin  County,  Fostoria  in 
Clay  County.  Wellsburg  and  Stout  in  Grundy  County, 
George  and  Little  Rock  in  Lyon  County,  and  Melvin  and 
Sibley  in  Osceola  County.  These  congregations,  however, 
consist  almost  entirely  of  German  families. — ■  See  Miinths 
of  the  General  Synod  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  America, 
1910,  p.  805. 

283  Corwin's  Manual,  pp.  135,  143-207. 

284  Minutes  of  the  General  Synod  of  the  Reformed 
Church  in  America,  1910. 

CHAPTER  XXXVTTT 

285  p'or  >s}]0rt  historical  sketches  of  the  Christian  Re- 
formed Church  see  Corwin's  Manual,  pp.  1:56.  140,  288,  479; 
The  Banner,  Vol.  46,  pp.  6,  36,  37,  55;  and  van  Stigt's  Ge- 
schieelenis,  Part  III,  pp.  118,  131-133. 

286Nollen's  De  Afschciding,  p.  60:  Corwin's  Manual,  p. 
140. 

287  Yearbook  of  the  Christian  Reformed  Church,  1911, 
pp.  28,  30;  and  Pella's  Weekblad.  February  2,  1869. 

2SS  Yearbook  of  the  Christian  Reformed  Church,  1911, 
p.  25.  The  Classis  of  East  Friesland  in  Towa  is  almost  ex- 
clusively German,  with  congregations  at  Wellsburg  in 
Grundy  County,  Ackley  in  Hardin  County,  Lincoln  Center 


420  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

and  Parkersburg  in  Butler  County,  Kanawha  and  Wright 
in  Hancock  County,  and  Ostfriesland  near  Wesley  in  Kos- 
suth County. 

289  Yearbook  of  the  Christian  Reformed  Church,  1907, 
pp.  80.  81 ;  and  the  Yearbook  for  1911,  pp.  60,  61. 

290  The  Banner  (Grand  Rapids,  Michigan),  Vol.  46,  pp. 
376-378,  393 ;  and  Dosker's  Levensschets  van  Ds.  A.  C.  van 
Raalte,  D.  D.,  pp.  115,  116,  330-333.  See  The  Banner 
(Grand  Rapids,  Michigan),  Vol.  46,  p.  328,  for  objections  to 
secret  societies.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the  United  Presby- 
terian Church  is  practically  identical  with  the  Christian 
Reformed  Church  in  doctrine,  government,  and  liturgy. 

CHAPTER  XXXIX 

291  The  Banner  (Grand  Rapids,  Michigan),  Vol.  46,  pp. 
265,  376,  393. 

292  Van 't  Lindenhout's  Zes  Weken  tusschen  de  Wielen; 
Pella's  Weekblad,  October  28,  1871;  and  Minutes  of  the 
General  Synod  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  America,  1910. 

293  The  Bella  Gazette,  February  22,  1860;  and  Pella's 
Weekblad,  March  9,  1869. 

294  The  Christian  Intelligencer,  June  15, 1876 ;  De  Volks- 
vriend,  July  20,  27,  1876;  and  Griffis'  The  Story  of  New 
Netherland,  p.  249. 

CHAPTER  XL 

295  The  gardeners  of  Orange  City  were  once  famous  for 
their  culture  of  celery.  Some  years  ago  it  was  said  that  they 
probably  ranked  second  to  the  growers  of  Kalamazoo,  Michi- 
gan, and  that  their  product  was  shipped  all  over  the  States 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  421 

of  Iowa,  Nebraska,  Minnesota,  and  the  Dakotas.  They 
cleared  from  $300  to  $400  per  acre.  —  See  Agricultural  Re- 
port (Iowa),  1889,  p.  542. 

296  This  complaint  was  made  by  a  writer  in  The  Banner 
(Grand  Rapids,  Michigan),  Vol.  46,  p.  101.  "Some  cul- 
ture," he  asserts,  "is  obtained  in  church,  in  catechetical 
and  Sunday-school  classes,  in  young  men's  societies,  in  the 
meetings  of  consistories,  classes  and  synods,  in  lecture 
courses,  in  meetings  of  school-boards  and  conventions.'' 

297  Phillips'  Mahaska  County,  p.  243;  and  van  Stigt's 
Geschiedenis,  Part  IT,  p.  66. 

298  Phillips'  Mahaska  County,  pp.  240-242. 

299  Scholte's  Tweede  Stem  nit  Pella,  p.  5. 

300  Van 't  Lindenhout  wrote  in  his  'ues  Weken  tusschen 
de  Wielen:  "Straw  is  simply  burned  because  it  isn't  worth 
transportation.  If  a  factory  were  fitted  up  here  for  the 
manufacture  of  straw-paper  and  for  the  working  of  flax 
which  is  much  sown  here  and  of  which  only  the  seed  is 
saved,  a  good  business  enterprise  would  certainly  result." 

He  also  exclaimed:  "How  very  different  is  the  con- 
dition of  these  good  friends  here  from  that  in  Holland ! 
Most  of  them  perhaps  never  thought  of  riding  in  a  carriage, 
let  alone  of  owning  one.  Perhaps  one  observes  that  they 
have  had  to  work  hard  for  it,  and  this  is  true,  but  they  have 
at  any  rate  progressed.  How  many  of  our  peasant  folk 
there  are  in  Holland  who  have,  despite  hard  toil,  in  recent 
years  retrograded!" 

301  United  States  Census,  1910,  Bulletin  of  Statistics  on 
Agriculture  in  Iowa.  Lyon  County  had  894  foreign-born 
farmers  and  775  native-born.     Of  the  Sioux  County  farms, 


422  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

701  were  operated  by  foreign-born  owners  and  736  by  for- 
eign-born tenants  —  only  Pottawattamie  County  had  more 
farms  operated  by  foreign-born  owners,  and  Lyon  and  Ply- 
mouth counties  came  next  to  Sioux  County  with  424  and  391 
foreign-born  tenants,  respectively. 

302  United  States  Census,  1910,  Bulletin  of  Statistics  on 
Agriculture  in  Iowa. 

Sioux  County  farmers  owned  1535  manure-spreaders, 
200  more  than  the  next  competing  county.  —  See  Agricul- 
tural Report  (Iowa),  1909,  p.  90,  which  is  the  latest  report 
on  this  subject. 

Agricultural  Report  (Iowa),  1910,  pp.  46,  49,  85,  91. 

303  Agricultural  Report  (Iowa),  1888,  p.  536;  1889,  p. 
541 ;  and  1895,  p.  428. 

304 Agricultural  Report  (Iowa),  1909,  pp,  91,  92;  and 
1910,  pp.  81,  82. 

305  rpj^  peua  National  Bank  has  wisely  hit  upon  the  plan 
of  giving  its  patrons  subscriptions  to  The  Homestead  in 
place  of  calendars  at  Christmas  time.  Such  means  are 
destined  to  stimulate  among  Dutch  farmers  a  much-needed 
interest  in  farm  journals. 

Mr.  H.  P.  Scholte,  who  is  engaged  in  the  banking  busi- 
ness at  Pella,  informed  the  writer  as  to  these  financial  mat- 
ters, quoting  a  bank-examiner  about  the  notes. 

That  some  Hollanders  are  guilty  of  the  sharpest  prac- 
tices cannot  be  denied.  Out  of  fifteen  dozens  of  eggs  de- 
livered at  a  store  in  Sioux  County  not  quite  half  were  fit  to 
eat.  This  fact  aroused  the  righteous  indignation  of  a  news- 
paper man  who  wrote :  ' '  And  this  in  a  Dutch  community 
too,  where  we  pride  ourselves  on  honesty  as  a  Dutch  nation- 
al trait!"  —  Sioux  Center  Nieuwsblad,  November  22,  1911. 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  423 

APPENDIX  B 

306  j)e  yr(je  Hollander,  October  13,  and  November  3,  10, 
17,  24,  1899.  The  writer  is  indebted  to  Mr.  H.  Toering  for 
the  use  of  the  files  from  1899  to  1903. 

307  De  Vrije  Hollander,  December  1,  1899. 

308 Pellet's  Nieuwsblad,  November  3,  10,  17,  24,  1899, 
March  23,  1900. 

309  The  Sioux  City  Journal,  December  8,  1899;  and  De 
Vrije  Hollander,  January  5,  1900. 

310  De  Vrije  Hollander,  December  22,  1899,  January  12, 
19,  February  2,  March  30,  and  May  4,  1900. 

311  De  Vrije  Hollander,  December  15,  1899,  January  5, 
1900. 

312  De  Vrije  Hollander,  January  12,  1900. 

313  De  Vrije  Hollander,  January  26,  1900 ;  and  House 
Journal  (Iowa),  1900,  p.  122. 

314  De  Vrije  Hollander,  February  2,  May  4,  25,  and 
August  17,  1900. 

315  De  Vrije  Hollander,  June  15,  1900;  and  Fella's 
Nieuwsblad,  June  1,  15,  1900. 

316  Fella's  Nieuwsblad,  November  2,  1900;  and  De  Vrije 
Hollander  during  the  months  of  October  and  November, 
1900. 

317  De  Vrije  Hollander,  June  14,  July  12,  19,  and  Au- 
gust 2,  1901 ;  and  Pella's  Nieuwsblad,  February  8,  March  1, 
April  19,  and  July  5,  19,  1901. 


424  THE  HOLLANDERS  OF  IOWA 

318  De  Vrije  Hollander,  October  4,  11,  18,  1901;  and 
Pella's  Nieuivsblad,  October  18,  25,  1901. 

319  De  Vrije  Hollander,  July  12,  and  December  19,  1901, 
February  28,  1902. 

320  Pella's  Nieuivsblad,  November  1,  1901;  and  De 
Vrije  Hollander,  December  16,  1901,  and  March  21,  and 
April  4,  1902. 

321  Pella's  Weekblad,  March  27,  1903. 

After  the  close  of  the  Boer  War  William  T.  Stead 
(the  well-known  London  editor  and  writer  who  sank  with 
the  Titanic)  visited  America  and  one  day  received  an  intro- 
duction to  Roosevelt.  The  President,  knowing  of  Stead's 
pro-Boer  sympathies,  suddenly  turned  to  him  and  ex- 
claimed: "My  people  were  Dutch,  you  know,  as  you  can 
tell  by  the  name." 

For  a  moment  Stead  eyed  him,  and  then  blurted  out: 
' '  You  didn  't  show  it  much  when  you  sent  those  mules  over 
to  South  Africa." 

322  De  Vrije  Hollander,  January  10,  24,  31,  February 
28,  March  14,  21,  April  25,  May  9,  August  1,  and  Septem- 
ber 19,  1902. 

Pella's  Weekblad  collected  several  hundreds  of  dollars 
for  the  Boers  as  is  shown  by  office-books. 

When  a  report  reached  the  Hollanders  of  Sioux  County 
in  1905  that  one  of  their  young  men  had  passed  examina- 
tions for  a  Rhodes  Scholarship,  considerable  consternation 
ensued  and  old  wounds  were  raked  open  as  is  evidenced  by 
the  following  translation  of  an  editorial  in  the  Dutch  lan- 
guage, which  appeared  in  De  Vrije  Hollander  on  March  18, 
1905: 

As  Hollanders,  as  Sioux  County  citizens,  we  should  rejoice  to 
have  a  young  man  of  our  nationality  win   the   honor  of  being  con- 


NOTES  AND  REFERENCES  425 

sidered  one  of  the  two  best  students  in  the  State.  But  as  Hollanders 
we  are  ashamed  that  a  young  man  of  such  talent  should  humiliate 
himself  by  accepting  a  gift  of  charity  from  the  lowdived  Cecil 
Rhodes,  —  from  the  man  who  was  the  author  of  the  war  against  the 
Boers. 

Furthermore,  let  us  keep  in  mind  the  purpose  of  this  scholarship 
prize.  These  prizes  are  meant  to  educate  American  students  in 
England  —  not  to  enable  them  to  gather  more  knowledge  —  to  con- 
vert them  into  missionaries  and  propagators  of  the  accursed,  unjust 
Anglo-Saxonism. 

That  a  young  man  who  wishes  to  advance  in  the  world  should, 
in  a  fit  of  absent-mindedness,  accept  money  stolen  from  the  Boers, 
bespattered  with  their  blood  and  with  the  blood  of  innocent  children 
who  starved  in  the  camps,  is  a  grievous  shame.  But  that  the  feeling 
of  honor  of  our  people  should  be  so  stupefied  that  the  young  man 
was  not  admonished  is  more  pitiful  still. 

APPENDIX  C 

323  See  de  Lespinasse's  Iowa,  p.  88;  Dosker's  Levens- 
schets  van  Ds.  A.  C.  van  Raalte,  D.  D.,  p.  200;  Pella's 
WeekUad,  July  6,  1869;  and  De  Vrije  Hollander,  January 
11,  1901. 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Ackley,  Hollanders  in,  194 ;  church 
at,   307,   419 

Africa,    145 

Agricultural  College,  Hollanders  at, 
274 

Agricultural   products,    346,   347 

Agricultural  settlements,  beginning  of, 
21 

Agriculture,  success  of  Hollanders  in, 
329-336 

Akkermann,    J.,    412 

Albany  (New  York),  settlement  of 
Dutch  at,  16;  reference  to,  26,  58, 
187;  Scholte  at,  48,  54;  treatment 
of   Scholte  at,   210 

Albion  Township  (Butler  County), 
Hollanders  in,  194 

Alexander  (Iowa),  404;  church  at, 
419 

Aliens,  landing-place  for,  120 

Alleghany  Mountains,  method  of  cross- 
ing, 51 ;  reference  to,  52 

Allegiance  to  United  States,  taking  of 
oath  of,  211,   212 

Alton,  completion  of  railroad  to,  147, 
187;  former  name  of,  186;  propor- 
tion of  Hollanders  in,  187;  refer- 
ence to,  191,  282,  284,  354;  popu- 
lation of,  202 ;  efforts  of,  to  secure 
county  seat,  243  ;  Dutch  church  at, 
301 ;  municipal  improvements  at, 
326;  mass  meetings  at,  358,  359; 
visit  of  Wessels  at,  359 

Alton  Democrat,   The,  255 

America,  beginning  of  Dutch  interest 
in,  16;  character  of  Dutch  colo- 
nization in,  22-24;  dominance  of 
Anglo-Saxon  influences  in,  25 ;  im- 
portance of  Dutch  in  colonization 
of,  25,  26;  causes  for  immigration 
to,  30;  reasons  for  turning  of  Dutch 
to,  37-41,  317;  attitude  of  Hol- 
landers toward,  39,  40;  journey 
of  Hollanders  to.  42 ;  region  in,  de- 
sired by  Hollanders,  43 ;  arrival  of 
Hollanders  in,  45,  46,  47 ;  arrival 
of  Scholte  in,  48 ;  necessity  of  in- 
formation concerning,  49 ;  dangers 
at  seaports  of,  49,  50;  reception  of 
Dutch  in,  54;  exaggerated  reports 
from,  96 ;  information  relative  to 
journey  to,  98 ;  false  statements 
concerning  emigrants  to,  99,  100; 
advantages  of,  for  emigrants,  108 ; 
benefit    of    Dutch    immigration    to, 


154,  155;  reports  of  visitors  to, 
154,  155;  book  on,  by  Hollander, 
187,  188 ;  contrast  between  political 
conditions  in  Holland  and,  208, 
209 ;  political  conditions  in,  dis- 
cussed by  Scholte,  209,  210;  im- 
portance of  newspapers  in,  247 ; 
contrast  between  schools  in  Holland 
and,  256 ;  hesitancy  of  Scholte  to 
join  church  in,  294;  most  prosper- 
ous Dutch  farming  community  in, 
332  ;  advice  to  immigrants  to,  339- 
348;  agricultural  products  of,  346, 
347:  religious  life  in,  347;  schools 
in,  347 ;  purchase  of  horses  in,  by 
English,  361,   362 

American  party,  doctrines  of,  221; 
opposition  of   Hollanders  to,   221 

American  Reformed  Church,  congre- 
gations   of,    302 

Americans,  attitude  of,  toward  Hol- 
landers, 50,  51,  55,  56,  213,  216, 
218;  self-sufficiency  of,  79;  spend- 
ing of  money  by,  79,  80;  rush  of, 
to  California,  84,  85 ;  number  of, 
in  Pella,  107;  business  activities  of, 
107,  110;  gratitude  of  Hollanders 
to,  107;  satisfaction  of  Iowa  with 
immigration  of,  116;  price  of  land 
raised  by,  141 ;  difficulties  of  Hol- 
landers with,  in  Sioux  County,  144; 
proportion  of,  in  Sioux  County, 
186,  201-203;  interest  of,  in  poli- 
ties, 221;  offices  in  Sioux  County  in 
hands  of,  255 ;  efforts  of,  to  ex- 
clude Hollanders  from  office,  239, 
240;  differences  between  Holland- 
ers  and,    in   religion,    314 

Amersfoort,  26 

Ames,   274 

Amsterdam  (Holland),  colony  from, 
21;  reference  to,  89,  151;  confer- 
ences of  Hospers  at,  152;  money 
for  Boers  sent  to,   355 

Amsterdam  (Iowa),  laying  out  of,  89, 
214;  expectations  for  prosperity  of, 
89,  90;  early  growth  of,  90;  blight- 
ing of  hopes  of,  90;  disappearance 
of,  90 ;  reason  for  laying  out  of, 
92;  price  of  lots  at,  99;  skating  on 
lake   near,    114;   location   of,   390 

Amsterdam    (Wisconsin),  251 

Amusements    of   Hollanders,    328,    329 

Amsterdamsche  Handelsblad,  Hct,  247 

429 


430 


INDEX 


Anglican    Church,    attempt    to    impose, 

on   Dutch,  27 
Anti-Masonic  movement,    307 
Aplington,    church    at,    419 
Appleton    (Wisconsin),   251 
Arboriculture,    attitude    of    Hollanders 

toward,   32  0,   321 
Archer,   Dutch    church    at,   302 
Artisans,  wages  of,  81 
Asia,    145 
Atheists,    exclusion    of,    from    emigrant 

associations,    43 
Atlantic     Ocean,     voyage     across,     47 ; 

deaths  on  voyage  across,   53 
Aue,    C,   414 
Aue,    John    P.    D.,    newspaper    edited 

by,   255 
Australia,  373 
Austria-Hungary,    376 
Automobiles,    use    of,    by    Hollanders, 

335 
Avignon    (France),   145 
Awtry,   G.,  election  of,   as  trustee,   214 
Axel     (Holland),     conference    of    Hos- 

pers  at,  152 

Backwoodsman,    character   of,    80 

Baker  Township  (O'Brien  County), 
Hollanders  in,  200 

Bakers,    80 

Balkema,  Albert,  office  held  by,  242 

Balkema,  Nicholas,  service  of,  as  Sena- 
tor, 244 

Baltimore  (Maryland),  arrival  of  Hol- 
landers at.  47,  48,  50;  journey  to 
St.  Louis  from,  48-53;  description 
of,  50;  departure  of  Hollanders 
from,  51  ;  reference  to,  53 

Baptist    Church,    109,    296 

Baptists,  college  established  by,  107, 
263,   276-279 

Barendregt,  Hendrik,  letter  to  Scholte 
from,  45,  339-348;  election  of,  as 
overseer  of  poor,   214 

Barendregt,   Peter,  223 

Barlev,  production  of,  in  Sioux 
County,   332 

Batavi,    descendants   of,    15 

Batavia,    195 

Bates,   Curtis,  220 

Beaver    (Pennsylvania),    99 

Belgic   Confession,   305 

Belgic  Netherlands,  emigrants  from, 
16 

Belgium,   352,  376 

Bell,   Miss   Currer,    137 

Belmond,   church   at,    419 

Beloit   (Iowa),  Hollanders  at,   159 

Benevolences,   311,   312 

Benton,  Thomas  H.,  Jr.,  vote  of  Hol- 
landers for,   231 

Benton  County,  number  of  Holland- 
ers in,   104,   193 

Bergen    (New  Jersey),   26 

Berkshire  hogs,    334 


Bermuda  Islands,  clothing  for  Boer 
prisoners  on,    311,   361 

Bethanv,   Dutch  church  at,  297 

Bethel  Church,  297 

Bethlehem,    Dutch  church  at,  297 

Betten,  Rev.  Anthony  J.,  46,  180,  190, 
295;  election  of,  as  trustee,  214; 
church    services    conducted    by,    290 

Betten,  Anthonv  J.,  acknowledgments 
to,  9;  office  held  by,  235,  237,  242; 
reference  to,  240,  348,  379,  382, 
412 

Betten,    Herman,    office    held   by,    242 

Big  Sioux  River,  settlers  on,  138; 
reference  to,  237 

Black  Hawk  Countv,  Hollanders  in, 
194;   reference  to,"  396 

Black  Oak  Township  (Mahaska 
County),  Hollanders  in,  104,  197; 
vote   for   Roosevelt  in,   232 

Blacksmith  shops,   110 

Boekenoogen,  G.,  office  held  by,  224 

Bneyink,    John,    office   held   by,   242 

Boer  war,  attitude  of  Hollanders  dur- 
ing,   349-362 

Boers.  243,  425 ;  relief  supplies  for, 
311;  interest  of  Hollanders  in  suc- 
cess of,  349 ;  collection  of  money 
for,  350-354,  355,  359-362;  appeal 
for  aid  for,  351-353 ;  rejoicing  of 
Hollanders  at  victories  of,  353;  re- 
ports of  raising  of  men  to  aid,  354; 
resolutions  of  councils  relative  to, 
355-358;  Hollanders  in  armies  of, 
359 

Bolks,  A.,  358 

Bolks,   George  J.,   office   held  by,   242 

Bolks,  Seine,  cheerfulness  of,  172 ; 
service  of,  to  Dutch  colonv,  178, 
298,  301;  reference  to,  184,  418; 
experiences  of,  in  Michigan,  281  ; 
character  of  preaching  by,  301, 
302;   portrait  of,    403 

Bonds,  suit  relative  to,  in  Sioux 
County,  237,  238;  settlement  of 
case  relative  to,  238 

Books,    lack   of,    324 

Boston,  arrival  of  Hollanders  at,  46 ; 
arrival  of  Scholte  at,  48 ;  visit  of 
Scholte   at,    54 

Bousquet,  A.  E.  D.,  efforts  of,  to  build 
up  colony,  90,  91  ;  interest  of,  in 
higher  education,  276;  reference  to, 
279,    291,    296,    391 

Bousquet,  Henry  L.,  office  held  by,  233 

Bousquet,  Herman  P.,  office  held  by, 
233 

Bousquet,  Pierre  H.,  office  held  by, 
233 

Boyden,  Dutch  church  at,  186,  302; 
reference  to,  191,  284;  population 
of,  203 ;  plan  for  parochial  school 
at,  269  ;  monev  raised  for  Boers  at, 
360 

Breda,    Hollanders    in,    195 

Breuckelen,    26 


INDEX 


431 


Brick-kilns,    80,    90,    110 

British,  ships  of,  burned  by  Dutch, 
246;    rejoicing   at    disasters   of,    353 

British    Isles,    immigrants    from,    25 

Brooklyn    (New   York),    26 

Brummelkamp,  Anthony,  32,  295;  em- 
igration  encouraged   by,    42-44 

Brussels,  money  for  Boers  sent  to.  355 

Brvan,  William  J.,  vote  of  Hollanders 
for,  232,  359 

Buchanan,  James,  vote  for,   226 

Buckwheat,    77 

Buena  Vista  County,  missionary  in, 
128 

Buffalo    (New  York),   98,   99 

Buffalo  Center,   church  at,    419 

Buncombe  Township  (Sioux  County), 
138 

Burlington,  number  of  Hollanders  in, 
103;  stage  route  to  Council  Bluffs 
from,  112;  reference  to,  230,  387; 
Dutch    church   in,    296 

Burlington  and  Missouri  River  Rail- 
road,  113 

Bushwvck    (New  York),   26 

Business   life,    326,    327 

Business  men,  debt  due  to,   178 

Bussey,  Hollanders  in   vicinity  of,   196 

Butler  County,  Hollanders  in,  104, 
194;    churches   in,    419,    420 

Butter,    making  of,   by   Hollanders,    77 

Caesar,    65 

Calhoun  County,   128 

California,  rush  of  gold  seekers  to, 
84,   85;   Hollanders  in,   376 

Calliope,  138 ;  method  of  reaching, 
145 ;  removal  of  county  seat  from, 
147,  148,  237;  county  seat  at,  235; 
journey  of  officers  to,  235;  journey 
of  Hollanders  to,  236;  safe  taken 
from,  236,  237;  safe  returned  to, 
237;  newspaper  removed  from,  252 

Canada,  immigrants  from,  in  Sioux 
County,  187,  189;  reference  to, 
254,   308 

Canadians,  proportion  of,  in  Sioux 
County,   186 

Canals,  travel  on,   51 

Cape  Colony,   374 

Capel  Township  (Sioux  County),  es- 
tablishment of,  185 ;  proportion  of 
Hollanders  in,   187,   201 

Capital,  new  site  for,  91,  92;  peti- 
tions  for   removal   of,   to   Pella,    223 

Carmel,   Dutch  church  at,  186,   302 

Carnegie-Viersen   Library,   324 

Carnes,   Dutch   church    at,    306 

Carpenter,   C.   C,   165,  237,   401 

Carpenters,    110 

Carroll   County,  Hollanders  in,  195 

Carroll  Township  (O'Brien  County), 
Hollanders   in,   200 

Cass,  Lewis,  216 

Castle  Garden,  landing-place  for  aliens 
at,    120 


"Catharina  Jackson"    (ship),   46 

Cathay,  16 

Catholic   church,    267 

Catholics,    195,    418 

Cattle,  161;  herding  of,  182;  raising 
of,  in  Sioux  Countv,  333 ;  fine 
breeds  of,  334 

Cedar  Grove    (Wisconsin),  251 

Cedar    Rapids    Republican,   The,   255 

Celery,   raising  of,  420,  421 

Census,  statistics  from,  103-105,  179- 
207 

Center  Township  (Sioux  County), 
population  of,  203 

Central  University,  establishment  of, 
107;  preparatory  department  of, 
111,  273;  higher  education  receiv- 
ed at,  274  ;  sketch  of  history  of, 
276-279 

Cerro  Gordo  County,  Hollanders  in, 
194 

Chamberlain,    Joseph,    356 

Chancellor    (South   Dakota),    204 

Chapin,    church    at,    419 

Cheese,  making  of,  bv  Hollanders,  77, 
78 

Cherokee,  government  road  to,  129; 
description  of,  in  1869,  129;  refer- 
ence to,  130,  131;  land  near,  pur- 
chased  by   speculators,    132 

Cherokee  County,  available  land  in, 
131;    reference   to,    133 

Chicago,  57,  99,  158;  Dutch  emi- 
grants from,  140;  Hollanders  in, 
157,  158,  376;  money  for  fire  suf- 
ferers  at,   311 

Chicago,  Milwaukee  and  St.  Paul 
Railroad,    187 

Chicago,  St.  Paul,  Minneapolis  and 
Omaha    Railroad,    202 

Chicago  and  Northwestern  Railroad, 
187 

Chicago  Convention,  Scholte  as  dele- 
gate to,  229 

Chicago  Times-Herald,  correspondence 
in,    354 

China,    search  for   passage  to,   16 

Christelijke   Uitdeeler,   De,   252 

Christian  Church  at  Pella,  organiza- 
tion of,  288 ;  split  in,  291  ;  breach 
between  Scholte  and,  291,  292; 
merging  of,  into  Dutch  Reformed 
Church,  'J95;   dissolution  of,  297 

Christian  Reformed  Church,  congrega- 
tions of,  29,  194,  419,  420;  "refer- 
ence to,  109,  110,  313.  420;  pa- 
rochial schools  of,  268-270;  plan 
of,  to  establish  academy,  270; 
sketch  of  history  of,  in  Towa,  305- 
309;  education  of  ministers  of, 
307;  total  membership  of,  308.  376, 
377;  reasons  for  recent  growth  of, 
308,  309;  relations  between  Dutch 
Reformed  Churcl  and,  310.  311; 
language  used  in,  314.  315;  num- 
ber  of  schools   maintained   by,    414 


432 


INDEX 


Christian  schools,  266-270;  reasons 
for    establishing,    268,   269 

Church,  regulations  for,  approved  by 
William  I,  81;  government  of,  31; 
irregularities  in,  31;  secession  from, 
31,  32;  Seceders  excommunicated 
by,  32 ;  separation  of  men  and  wo- 
men at,  312;  attendance  at,  312, 
313;  effect  of,  on  life  of  Holland- 
ers,  318 

Church  Square,  controversy  over,  291, 
292 

Churches,  number  of,  in  New  Neth- 
erland,  26,  27;  increase  in  num- 
ber of,  27 ;  distribution  of,  29 : 
early  history  of,  at  Pella,  288-293; 
historv  of  Dutch,  in  Iowa,  294, 
309;  "  establishment  of,  295-298, 
302;    relations  between,    310,    311 

Cincinnati  (Ohio),  railroad  from 
Sandusky    to,    99 

Civil  War,  Dutch  immigration  dur- 
ing, 104;  reference  to,  113;  ser- 
vice of  Hollanders  in,  230;  Central 
University   students  in,   278 

Clara   City   (Minnesota),  204 

Clark,  Dan   E.,   acknowledgments  to,  9 

Clark,  Green  F.,  election  of,  as  jus- 
tice of  peace,  214 

Classis  of  East  Friesland,  307,  308; 
congregations   of,    419,    420 

Clay,   Henry,   220,    228 

Clay   County,    church  in,   419 

Clay  Township  (Marion  County),  Hol- 
landers in,    196 

Clearwater    (Minnesota),   251 

Clergy,  salaries  of,  31;  education  of. 
31 

Clerk  of  district    court,    235,    242 

Climate,   346 

Clinton,   Hollanders  in,   193 

Clinton  County,  Hollanders  in,  193; 
reference  to,   396 

Clydesdale  stallions,   334 

Coal,    premium    for    discovery    of,    238 

Code  Napoleon,   32,   379 

Cole,  Cvrenus,  newspapers  edited  bv, 
255 

Colonists,  neglect  of,   19,   21 

Colonization,  conditions  unfavorable 
to,  17;  resolution  to  encourage,  18, 
19;  part  played  by  Dutch  in,  22-24 

Colorado,  Dutch  churches  in,  29 ;  ref- 
erence to,  84,  254;  emigratiou  to, 
199,    204 

Colorado  locusts,    171 

Columbia    (Pennsylvania),   51,   385 

Columbia  Township  (Tama  County), 
Hollanders   in,    193 

Columbia  Township  (Wapello  Coun- 
ty),   Hollanders  in,    104 

Committee  (legislative),  investigation 
of  locust  ravages  by,   165-169 

Committee  of  Investigation  (1847), 
choice   of  land  by,   61-64 

Committee     of    Investigation     (1869), 


members  of  first,  127;  operations 
of  first,  127-131;  appointment  of 
second,  131;  authority  of  second, 
132 ;  members  of  second,  132 ; 
choice  of  Sioux  Countv  bv  second, 
132-135 

Community  life  among  Hollanders, 
317-336 

Conemaugh   Valley,   51 

Confession  of  Faith,    31 

Congregationalists,   418 

Congress,  provision  for  improvement 
of  Des  Moines  River  by,  88,  89 ; 
act  of,  relative  to  locust  sufferers, 
171 

Connecticut  River,   16,   18 

Constables,  election  of,  214 

Constitution  of  1857,  vote  of  Holland- 
ers  on,   226 

Coopers,   110 

Copperheads  at  Pella,    230 

Corn,  77,  160,  171;  plan  for  ship- 
ping of,  91;  production  of,  in 
Sioux    County,   332 

Corn-mills,    110 

Corsica    (South  Dakota),   204 

Council  Bluffs,  talk  of  railroad  from 
Dubuque  to,  92 ;  stage  route,  from 
Burlington  to,  112 ;  reference  to, 
132,   411;   Hollanders  in,   194 

Councilmen,    109 

Counties,  number  of  Hollanders  in, 
104,    105 

Country  life  among  Hollanders,  329- 
336 

Countv    auditor,   235,    242 

County   clerk,   233 

County  recorder,  233 

County  seat,  removal  of,  from  Cal- 
liope, 147,  148 ;  choice  of  Orange 
City  as,  180;  desire  for  change  of, 
from  Knoxville,  213;  retention  of, 
at  Knoxville,  214;  reference  to, 
235;  removal  of,  to  Orange  City, 
237 ;   proposition  to  relocate,   243 

Countv   Superintendent,  242 

County  Supervisors,   233,    235,   242 

Countv   surveyor,    150,    222 

County    treasurer,    233,    242 

Courthouse,  building  of,  at  Orange 
City,    238 

Cows,    cost    of,    343 

Creed,    maintenance  of,    31 

Cronje,    Piet,    355 

Crops,  destruction  of,  by  locusts,  163, 
170,  171;  need  for  variety  of,   172 

Cuba,    243 

Cumberland    Road,     386 

Cummins,  Albert  B.,  vote  of  Hol- 
landers  for,    241 

Curtis,  Samuel  R.,  efforts  of  Scholte 
in    behalf   of,    229 

Customs,  passing  of,   340,   341 

Dairy  farming,  popularity  of,  78;  op- 
portunities  for,    344 


INDEX 


433 


Dallas    (Texas),    251 

Danish  language,  pamphlet  translated 
into,   121 

Davenport,  85;  Hollanders  in,  193; 
Dutch   church   at,   296,   297 

Dealy,  William,   399 

De  Bey,   Albert,   office  held  bv,   242 

Debts,   burden   of,    174,    175,    177 

De  Cock,  Henry,   32 

De  Cook,   Stephen,  office  held  by,   233 

De  Haan,   Jacob,    412 

Dekker,  H.,  service  of,  in  Boer  arm- 
ies,  359 

Delaware,  prosperity  of  Dutch  in,  25 ; 
reference   to,    26 

Delaware  River,   18,   21 

De  Lespinasse,  A.  F.  H.,  medical 
school   opened  by,  280,   281 

Democracy,  evidences  of,  among  Hol- 
landers,  325,   326 

Democratic  party,  reasons  for  support 
of,  bv  Hollanders,  222  ;  support  of, 
by  Hollanders,  224-232,  241  ;  de- 
sertion of,  by  Scholte,  227-229,  407; 
reference  to,   349 

Democratic  State  Convention,  Scholte 
as  delegate  to,    227 

Democrats,  219;  vote  of  Hollanders 
for,  220 

De  Mots,  Ed.,  office  held  by,  242 

Den  Hartog,  Cornelius,  election  of,  as 
overseer   of   poor,    214 

Denmark,    376 

De    Pree,  James,    399,   404 

Derbyites,   society  of,  297 

De   Spelder,    John   A.,   282 

Des  Moines,  completion  of  railroad 
to,  113;  reference  to,  132,  251, 
275;   Hollanders   in,    195 

Des   Moines  rapids,   87 

Des  Moines  River,  purchase  of  land 
on,  64;  reference  to,  70,  196,  197, 
198,  213,  336,  390;  saw-mills  on, 
75,  110;  post-office  on,  86;  provi- 
sions for  improvement  of,  88,  89 ; 
town  of  Amsterdam  on,  89 ;  high 
water  on,  90;  impracticability  of 
improvement  of,  90;  navigation  of, 
90,  91;  railroad  land  grants  in  val- 
ley of,  113;  town  laid  out  on,  214; 
agitation  for  improvement  of,  215 ; 
land  appropriated  for  improvement 
of,    388 

Des   Moines  Steamboat   Company,  91 

Des  Moines  Township  (Jasper  Coun- 
ty),  Hollanders   in,    197 

Des  Moines  Valley  Railroad,  Pella 
reached   by,   113 

De  Visser,  A.,  election  of,  as  fence 
viewer,   214 

De  Wild,  John,  newspaper  published 
bv,   255 

De   Witt,  Hollanders  in,    193 

Dialects,   variety  of,   327 

Dingman,   Mr.,    180 

Dissenters,     desire    of,     for    Christian 


education,  34;  reasons  for  opposi- 
tion of,  to  Java,   38;  reference   to, 

42,  43 ;  emigrant  association  form- 
ed by,  44;  distribution  of,  382; 
(see  also  Seceders  and  Separatists) 

Doctors,   110 

Doctrinal  Rules  of  the  Svnod  of  Dort, 
31 

Dodge,  Augustus  C,  vote  of  Holland- 
ers for,    229 

Dokkum  (Friesland),  pamphlet  pub- 
lished in,   116 

Donner,   Rev.,   295 

Doon,  purchase  of  land  near,  159;  in- 
terest in  parochial  school  at,  269: 
Dutch   church   at,    302,   306 

Dordrecht  (Holland),  conference  of 
Hospers  at,   152 

Douglas,    Stephen  A.,   vote  for,  229 

Drenthe    (Holland),   327,   363 

Dress,   simplicity  of,   323 

Dronrijp  (Holland),  conference  of 
Hospers    at,    152 

Drug  stores,    111 

Druggists,    110 

Dubuque,  talk  of  railroad  to  Council 
Bluffs  from,  92 ;  Hollanders  in, 
103,  193;  reference  to,  195,  230 

Dubuque  Countv,  Hollanders  in,  104, 
105,    192,    193 

Dug-outs,  description  of,  74,  75.  142, 
143 

Duinink,   A.,   412 

Durham   cattle,   334 

Duroc   Jersey   hogs,    334 

Dutch,  origins  and  present-day  con- 
ditions of,  in  Iowa,  7 ;  sources  for 
history  of,  in  Iowa,  8 ;  early  settle- 
ments of,  15-24;  beginning  of  in- 
terest of,  in  America,  15,  16;  region 
claimed  by,  16;  capture  of  Span- 
ish ships  by,  17;  interest  of,  in  fur 
trade,  18 ;  plan  for  direction  of,  to 
America,  18 ;  amalgamation  of  Eng- 
lish and,  22,  26;  number  of,  in 
New  York,  22 ;  character  of  colon- 
ization by,  22-24  ;  prosperity  of,  25  ; 
adherence  of,  to  Dutch  Reformed 
Church,  25,  26;  disappearance  of 
institutions  and  language  of,  27; 
emigration  of,  from  New  York,  27 ; 
increase  in  number  of  churches  of, 
27;  part  of,  in  westward  move 
ment,  28;  reasons  for  turning  of 
to  America,  37-41;  necessity  of  em 
igration  recognized  by,  37;  recep 
tion  of,  in  America,  54-56 ;  settle 
ment  of,  in  Michigan,  57 ;  attitude 
of,  toward  backwoodsmen,  80;  fi- 
nancial condition  of,  95;  twenty- 
five  years  of  immigration  of,  101- 
105:  number  of,  in  Pella,  107; 
frontier  stage  of  society  among,  108  : 
encouragement  of  immigration  of, 
by  State,  115-122;  new  settlement 
of,    advised,    122;    honesty  of,    162, 


434 


INDEX 


163;  expulsion  of  Spanish  and 
French  by,  185 ;  progress  and  ex- 
pansion of,  in  Iowa,  192-207;  clan- 
nishness  of,  200;  anxiety  of,  to  im- 
prove farms,  219,  220;  careless- 
ness of,  at  elections,  224;  imitative 
faculty  of,  319;  effect  of,  upon 
American  character,  373  (see  also 
Hollanders) 

Dutch    Church,    Garden   of   the,    27 

Dutch  government,  neglect  of  colon- 
ists by,   21 

Dutch  language,  Governors'  messages 
printed  in,  118,  119;  pamphlet 
translated  into,  121;  reason  for  not 
publishing  newspaper  in,  245,  246; 
news  in,  published  by  Scholte,  247, 
248 ;  service  of  newspapers  in  per- 
petuating, 255 ;  question  of  preach- 
ing in,  296;  ministers  trained  to 
preach  in,  303;  preaching  in,  314, 
315 ;  dialects  of,  363 ;  forces  tend- 
ing toward  maintenance  of,  363, 
364;  gradual  disappearance  of, 
365,    366 

Dutch  Presbyterian  Church,  297 

Dutch  Reformed  Church,  importance 
of,  25,  26,  374,  375;  growth  and 
prosperity  of,  27,  28;  congregations 
of,  29,  185,  186,  194,  419;  paro- 
chial school  of,  266-268;  college  of, 
in  Michigan,  274;  reference  to, 
283,  284,  285,  313;  sketch  of  his- 
tory of,  in  Iowa,  294-304;  educa- 
tion of  ministers  of,  303 ;  total 
membership  of,  304,  377;  reasons 
for  secessions  from,  305,  306;  con- 
troversy over  secret  societies  in, 
307;  relation  between  Christian  Re- 
formed Church  and,  310,  311;  lan- 
guage used   in,   314,  315 

Dutch  settlers,  descendants  of  early, 
375 

Dwellings,  character  of  first,  73,  74, 
75,  141-143  ;  character  of,  in  Pella, 
76;  improvement  of,  162;  descrip- 
tion  of,   167,    168,    322,    323 

Dvkes,  building  of,  along  Skunk  Riv- 
*er,    198 

Earrings,    328 

East,  route  to  Mississippi  Valley  from, 
52 

East   Indies,   attention  called  to,   38 

East  Orange,  completion  of  railroad 
to,  147;  reference  to,  170,  173.  180, 
184;  change  of  name  of,  186; 
Dutch  church  at,  186,  301;  price 
of  land   near,    398 

East  Orange  Township  (Sioux  Coun- 
ty), establishment  of,  185;  popula- 
tion of,  186,  202;  reference  to,  240; 
politics  in,  241 

Eddyville,  Hollanders  in,  195 :  Hol- 
landers near,  197 ;  Dutch  church 
at,    297 


Edgerton    (Minnesota),    204 

Education,  desire  of  Dissenters  for 
provision  for,  34;  means  of,  111, 
256-286;  difficulty  in  securing,  in 
Holland,  256-258;  interest  of  Hoi 
landers  in   higher,  273-275 

Elections,  strength  of  Hollanders  in, 
147,  148;  first  participation  in,  by 
Hollanders,  214;  participation  by 
Hollanders  in,  219-244 

Electric   lights,    326 

Elk  Creek  Township  (Jasper  County), 
Hollanders  in,   197 

Ellis,   W.  J.,  office  held  by,  224 

Elwell,  Stilman,  election  of,  as  con- 
stable, 214 

Emigrant  association,  formation  of,  at 
Utrecht,  44 ;  journey  of  members  of, 
to  America,   44-47 

Emigrant  associations,  formation  of, 
42 ;  membership  of,  42,  43  ;  land  in 
one  locality  desired  by,  43 ;  reason 
for  formation  of,  43,   44 

Emigrant  companies,  good  results  ob- 
tained by,  120 

Emigrants,  favorable  reports  sent  to 
fatherland  by,  41 ;  advice  to,  42, 
156,  157,  33"9-348;  instructions  to, 
45;  number  of  first,  46;  false  state- 
ments concerning,  99,  100;  charac- 
ter of,  102 ;  equipment  of,  344,  345 
(see   also  Immigrants) 

Emigration,  conditions  unfavorable  to, 
17;  plan  to  facilitate,  19,  20;  causes 
for,  30-36;  recognition  of  necessity 
of,  37;  fear  of,  on  part  of  officials, 
37,  38;  encouragement  of,  42-44: 
description  of,  65 ;  memorable  years 
in  history  of,  94;  need  of,  in  Mar- 
ion County,  122-126  (see  also  Im- 
migration) 

Emmet   County,   128 

England,  war  between  Holland  and, 
21 ;  conditions  in,  favorable  to  emi- 
gration, 23,  24;  reference  to,  45, 
376;  immigrants  from,  in  Sioux 
County,  187,  189;  hostility  of  Hol- 
landers toward,  349 

English,  causes  for  emigration  of,  17 ; 
coming  of,  to  New  Netherland,  19 ; 
effect  of  capture  of  Dutch  colony  by, 

21,  22;  amalgamation  of  Dutch  and 

22,  26;  immigration  of,  25;  oppres- 
sion of  Dutch  by,  27;  alleged  aid 
to,   by   Roosevelt,    361 

English   Channel,   45 

English  language,  value  of  knowledge 
of,  347 ;  supplanting  of  Dutch  lan- 
guage by,    364-366 

Erie    (Pennsylvania),   99 

Esopus   (New  York),  19,  26 

Europe,    emigration  from,   21,    65,   83 
causes     for    emigration    from,     30 
density  of  population   in,   30;   home 
seekers   from,    45 ;    character  of   life 
in,    68,    69 ;    character   of    dwellings 


INDEX 


435 


in,  76;  need  of  reaching  emigrants 
before  leaving,  120 ;  immigration 
agents  in,  121;  revolution  in,  217; 
reconstruction   in,    287 

Evangelical  Alliance,  delegate  from 
Holland    to,    154 

Evening  Times,  The,  (Cedar  Rapids), 
255 

Excelsior  Mills    (Illinois),   251 

Factories,   plan   for  building  of,   90 

Fairfield,  investigation  in  land  office 
at,  62,  63 

Fairview  Township  (Jasper  County), 
Hollanders  in,    197 

Fares  (steamboat),  340,  341 

Fares    from    Holland   to   America,    346 

Farm  implements,  161,  331;  need  for 
purchase  of,  162;  purchase  of,  on 
credit,   162,    163 

Farmer's  Tribune,  The,   335 

Farmers,  need  of,  20;  success  of  Hol- 
landers as,    329-336 

Farming,  interest  of  Hollanders  in, 
76,   77 

Farms,  character  of,  in  Marion  Coun- 
ty, 77;  necessity  of  labor  on,  258, 
259 

Faust,    Albert   B.,    375. 

Fence   viewers,   214,   405 

Fences,  necessity  for  building  of,  182  ; 
reference   to,    322 

Feudal  system,   revival  of,    18 

Fields,  ravaging  of,  bv  locusts,  163, 
164,   170,    171 

Fisher,   William,   office   held  by,   224 

Fisk,   Mr.,    356 

Fisscher,   A.,    359 

Flatbush    (New  York),  26 

Flatlands    (New  York),  26 

Flax,    77 

Floods  of  1851,  90 

Flowers,  growth  of,  bv  Dutch,  321 

Floyd  River,  130,   133 

Floyd  Township  (Sioux  County),  es- 
tablishment of,  185 ;  population  of, 
186,  202  ;  proportion  of  Hollanders 
in,  187;  reference  to,  240;  politics 
in,   241 

Foods,  among  Hollanders,  323  ;  amount 
of,    needed   by    emigrants,    345 

Foreign  immigration,  attitude  of 
Hempstead  toward,   119 

Fort    Amsterdam,    18 

Fort  Des  Moines,  evacuation  of,  by 
Dragoons,  71;  reference  to,  88,  89; 
stage    route    through,    112,    113 

Fort  Dodge,  128,  354;  Hollanders  in, 
194 

Fort  Good  Hope,  18 

Fort   Nassau,    18 

Fort  Orange  (New  York),  settlement 
of  Dutch  at,  16;  reference  to,  18, 
26 

Fostoria,    church    at,    419 


Fourth  of  Julv,  celebration  of,  by 
Hollanders,    114,    328,   329,    360 

France,  22,  352,  376 

Franco-Prussian  War,   151 

Franklin  County,  Hollanders  in,  194; 
churches    in,    419 

Franklin   Street,    73 

Franziska    (ship),    391 

Fremont,    John   C,   vote   for,    226 

French,   31;    coming  of,  to  Pella,   106 

Friesian    cattle,    334 

Friesland,  number  of  emigrants  from, 
in  Iowa,  103  ;  pamphlet  published 
in,  116;  reference  to,  327,  382; 
language  of  people  of,   363 

Frieslanders,  emigration  of,  to  Sioux 
County,    140 

Frontier,  arrival  of  Hollanders  on, 
69;  land  purchased  on,  71;  adapta- 
tion of  Hollanders  to  life  on,  78, 
79,  81;  first  settlers  on,  80;  draw- 
backs of  life  on,   86 

Fruit,    77 

Fruit  trees,  failure  of  Hollanders  to 
appreciate  value  of,  321 

Fuel,    difficulty   in    securing,    144,    147 

Fur  trade,  interest  of  Dutch  in,  18,  20 

Furniture,   description  of  pioneer,    143 

Galesburg,  Hollanders  near,  197; 
Dutch   church    at,   297 

Galveston  (Texas),  relief  for  flood 
sufferers  at,    311 

Garden    Square,    108,    276,    291 

Gardening,   interest   of    Dutch    in,    320 

Garfield  Township  (Mahaska  County), 
Hollanders   in,    197 

Garfield  Township  (Sioux  County), 
population  of,  203 

Gas  plants,    326 

Gelderland,  327,  363,  382;  emigrants 
from,   381 

Gelderschman,   letters  by,   109.   117 

Genderen  (Holland),  conference  of 
Hospers  at,   152 

General  Assembly,  railroad  land  grant 
made  by,  113;  relief  for  grasshop- 
per sufferers  by,  165-169;  appro- 
priation by,  for  purchase  of  seed; 
169;  township  government  given  to 
Hollanders  by,  212;  Dutch  mem- 
bers   of,   244 

George,    church    at,    419 

German  language.  Governors'  mes- 
sages printed  in,  118;  pamphlet 
translated  into,    121 

German  Township  (Grundy  County), 
Hollanders    in,    194 

Germans,  49,  61,  307,  336,  343,  347, 
404,  419;  attitude  of  Americans  to 
ward,  55  ;  coming  of,  to  Pella,  106 
proportion  of,  in  Sioux  County 
186,  202,  203;  objection  of  Hoi 
landers  to   being   called,   246 

Germany,    immigrants   from,   in   Sioux 


436 


INDEX 


County,  187,  189;  reference  to,  352, 
376 
Gleysteen,     D.,    400 
Gleysteen,   D.  J.,  office  held  by,  242 
Gold,    finding  of,   in  California,   84 
Gold-seekers,    description  of,    84,   85 
Gorinchem     (Holland),     151;     confer- 
ences of  Hospers  at,   152 
Governor,     messages     of,     printed     in 

Dutch,   118,   119 
Grafe,  E.  F.,  office  held  by,  224 
Graham,   John  A.,    388 
Grain,  destruction  of,   by  locusts,   163, 

176 
Grand    Haven     (Michigan),    Holland- 
ers in,    157,   158;   reference  to,  251 
Grand    Rapids     (Michigan),    Holland- 
ers in,    157,  158;   reference  to,  188, 
251,  268;   theological  school  at,   307 
Grant,   Edwin   H,.   newspaper  publish- 
ed bv,   110,  220,  245 
Grant,  Ulvsses  S.,  232 
Grant    Chief,   The,   255 
Grant  Township   (Sioux  County),  pop- 
ulation of  202, 
Grasshoppers,   invasion   of,    167;   debts 
occasioned  by  raid  of,  170;  damage 
by,    in    1875,    175;    attempts   to    de- 
stroy,  176   (see   also  Locusts) 
Gravesend    (New   York),    26 
Great   Northern   Railway,   189 
Green   Bay    (Wisconsin),   251 
Green    Township     (Wapello    County), 

number  of  Hollanders  in,    104 
Grimes,   James  W.,   message  of,  print- 
ed  in    Dutch,    118;    election    of,    as 
Senator,   227 
Grinnell   College,    Hollanders  at,    274 
Groningen    (Holland),   327,   363,   382 
Groningen,    University   of,   31 
Grundy    County,    Hollanders    in,    105, 
194;     church    in,    307,    419;    refer- 
ence   to,    358 
Gulf  of  Mexico,    339 
Guthrie   County,    396 

Haarlem    (Holland),    151 

Haarlem    (New  York),  26 

Half-Breed  Tract,  condition  of  land 
titles   in,    61,   62 

Half  Moon,   16 

Hamlin,  Hannibal,  efforts  of  Scholte 
in   behalf   of,    229 

Hammond,  S.  M.,  newspaper  publish- 
ed by,   249 

Hancock   County,   churches   in,    420 

Hardin  County,  Hollanders  in,  105, 
194;    church  in,    307,    419 

Hardship,   years  of,   160-178 

Hardware    business,    110 

Harlan,    W.    S.,    394 

Harmelink,  Charles,   office  held  by,  242 

Harrisburg    (Pennsylvania),    51,   385 

Harrison    (South   Dakota),    204 

Harvard   College,   277 

Harvest,    reliance   upon,    162,    163 


Harvey,  Hollanders  in  vicinity  of, 
196;    Dutch  church    at,   306 

Heemstra,    John   F.,    283 

Heemstra,    Tjeerd,    office    held   by,   235 

Heerenveen  (Holland),  conferences  of 
Hospers   at,    152 

Heidelberg  Catechism,  31,  290,  305, 
307 

Heidenwereld,  De,  254 

Hemp,  77 

Hempstead,  Stephen,  recommendation 
of,   concerning  immigration,   119 

Hensden    (Holland),   151 

Herd  law,  adoption  of,  in  Sioux 
County,    182 

Hereford    cattle,    334 

High    schools,    271-275 

Hog  law,    109 

Hogs,  raising  of,  bv  Hollanders,  78, 
161,   333,   334 

Holland,  Golden  Age  of,  15;  attitude 
of  West  India  Company  toward 
emigration  from,  17 ;  conditions  in, 
unfavorable  to  colonization,  17,  23, 
24;  plan  to  facilitate  emigration 
from,  19,  20;  return  of  settlers  to, 
20;  war  between  England  and,  21; 
part  of,  in  American  colonization, 
22;  state  church  of,  27;  number  of 
immigrants  from,  28,  104;  coming 
of  William  I  to  throne  of,  30,  31; 
conditions  in,  in  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, 30-36;  persecution  of  Separat- 
ists in,  32 ;  economic  conditions  in, 
34-36,  97;  character  of  farms  in, 
59 ;  letters  from  consul  in,  60 ; 
roads  in,  88  ;  beginnings  of  emigra- 
tion to  Iowa  from,  94;  pamphlet 
bv  Van  Raalte  sold  in,  95  ;  pamph- 
let by  Scholte  sold  in,  96,  .116; 
newcomers  from,  advised  to  go  to 
Michigan,  98  ;  emigrants  from,  plac 
ed  in  false  light,  99,  100;  efforts 
to  secure  emigration  from,  101, 
107;  character  of  emigrants  from, 
102;  comparison  of  condition  of 
Dutch  in  Iowa  and,  106;  advice 
to  emigrants  from,  117,  339-348; 
Hospers  as  emigrant  agent  in,  121 ; 
advertisement  in  newspapers  in, 
151 ;  interest  in,  in  emigration  to 
Iowa,  152,  153;  benefits  of  emi- 
gration from,  to  America,  154,  155; 
letters  of  inquiry  from,  155,  156; 
reference  to,  157,  352,  376;  immi- 
grants from,  in  Sioux  County,  187, 
189  ;  contrast  between  political  con- 
ditions in  America  and,  208,  209; 
renouncement  of  allegiance  to,  211, 
212;  revolution  in,  217;  impossi- 
bility of  establishing  free  govern- 
ment in,  219;  political  condition  of 
people  in,  219;  contrast  between 
schools  in  America  and,  256;  hos- 
tility toward  Christian  education  in, 
256*258;   education   in,  272;  recon- 


INDEX 


437 


struction  in,  287 ;  attitude  toward 
Seceders  in,  287 ;  contribution  for 
orphan  asylum  in,  311;  dialects  of, 
327;  contrast  between  farming  in 
Iowa  and,  330,  331;  effort  to 
strengthen  bond  between  United 
States    and,    365 

Holland    (Grundy  County),   19-1 

Holland  (Sioux  County),  selecnon  of 
site   of,    133 

Holland  (Michigan),  156,  18S,  251; 
Hope  College  at,  274,  278,  303; 
relief  for  fire  sufferers  at,  311 

Holland  Academy,  281,  303 

Holland  Township  (Sioux  County), 
early  dwellings  in,  142,  143 ;  ref- 
erence to,  145,  153,  240;  Holland- 
ers in,  148,  180,  201;  establish- 
ment of,  179;  original  size  of,  185; 
population  of,  186;  proportion  of 
Hollanders  in,   187;   politics  in,  241 

Hollander,  De,  247 

Hollanders,  character  of  history  of,  in 
Iowa,  7,  8 ;  early  achievements  of, 
15;  cessation  of  immigration  of, 
25 ;  feeling  of  national  pride  among, 
26,  317;  predominance  of,  in  New 
York,  27;  communities  of,  in  Mis- 
sissippi Valley,  28,  29 ;  distribu- 
tion of,  in  United  States,  29,  376; 
causes  of  emigration  of,  30,  317; 
favorable  reports  sent  to  fatherland 
by,  41 ;  advice  to,  42 ;  journey  of, 
to  America,  45-47 ;  arrival  of,  in 
America,  45,  46,  47 ;  attempts  to 
exploit,  49 ;  impressions  of  Balti- 
more by,  50;  attitude  of  Americans 
toward,  50,  51,  55,  56,  213,  216, 
218;  journey  of,  to  St.  Louis,  51- 
53 ;  sufferings  of,  on  journey,  52, 
53 ;  Scholte  invited  to  preach  to, 
54,  55 ;  character  of  land  desired 
by,  59,  60;  last  step  in  finding 
home  for,  61 ;  arrival  of,  in  Iowa, 
65-69 ;  departure  of,  from  St. 
Louis,  65,  66;  deaths  among,  66; 
description  of,  67,  107,  108,  109, 
110;  disappointment  of,  67,  68;  life 
of,  in  Holland,  68,  69 ;  description 
of  land  purchased  by,  70,  71  ;  land 
chosen  by  lot  by,  72  ;  first  dwellings 
of,  73,  74,  75 ;  establishment  of, 
in  Marion  County,  73-81  ;  dwellings 
of,  in  Pella,  76 ;  agricultural  activi- 
ties of,  76-79;  dairy  farming  by, 
77,  78;  adaptation  of,  to  frontier 
life,  78,  79,  81 ;  manufacture  of 
farm  implements  for,  79 ;  aversion 
of  number  of,  to  work,  81 ;  early 
experiences  of,  in  Iowa,  82-85 ; 
fresh  accessions  of,  83,  122,  295 ; 
sufferings  of,  during  winter,  83  ;  re- 
lief of  destitution  of,  83-85 ;  profit 
of,  from  gold-seekers,  84,  85  ;  hopes 
and  disappointments  of,  86-93 ; 
mail  facilities  of.  86,   87;   inconven- 


ience of,  in  securing  markets,  87 ; 
route  of  transporting  supplies  for, 
88 ;  interest  of,  in  improvement  of 
Des  Moines  River,  89,  90;  agita- 
tion among,  for  railroads,  91,  92; 
attitude  of,  toward  location  of  cap- 
ital, 92;  comparison  of,  in  Iowa 
and  Michigan,  94,  96;  appeal  of 
Scholte  to  wealthy,  97 ;  attempt  to 
turn,  from  Iowa,  98 ;  routes  of,  to 
Iowa,  99;  township  government 
given  to,  99,  212;  encouragement 
of,  in  Michigan,  99 ;  number  of,  in 
Iowa,  103-105 ;  expansion  of  col- 
ony of,  103,  104;  number  of,  by 
counties,  104,  105;  gratitude  of, 
to  American  settlers,  107;  prosper- 
ity of,  109,  148 ;  rejoicing  among, 
at  completion  of  railroad,  113,  114; 
celebration  of  quarter  centennial  of 
settlement  of,  114;  encouragement 
of  immigration  of,  116-121:  appli- 
cations for  homesteads  signed  by, 
131 ;  land  in  northwestern  Iowa, 
available  for,  131;  desire  of,  for 
large  tract  of  land,  133;  land  along 
railroad  chosen  by,  134;  emigration 
of,  to  Sioux  County,  140 ;  early 
dwellings  of,  in  Sioux  County,  141- 
143 ;  community  life  among,  143, 
148,  317-336;  financial  condition 
of,  143,  144,  161,  162;  difficulties 
of,  with  Americans  in  Sioux  Coun- 
ty, 144;  name  always  perpetuated 
by,  145 ;  strength  of,  in  elections, 
147,  148 ;  increase  in  number  of, 
in  Sioux  County,  154;  account  of 
condition  of,  in  Iowa,  157;  crowd- 
ing of,  in  cities,  157;  harvest  reap- 
ed by,  during  first  years  in  Sioux 
County,  160-162;  hardship  among, 
on  account  of  locusts,  160-178; 
destitution  among,  164;  relief  for, 
164-169;  attitude  of,  toward  relief, 
168,  169 ;  discouragement  of,  171, 
172,  175;  progress  of,  in  Sioux 
County,  173,  174;  attempt  of,  to 
destroy  grasshoppers,  176;  trying 
ordeal  of,  177,  178;  growth  of  col- 
ony of,  in  Sioux  County,  179-191 ; 
planting  of  trees  by,  181 ;  excur- 
sion of,  to  Orange  City,  183-185; 
proportion  of,  in  Sioux  County,  186, 
187,  189;  quarter  centennial  of 
settlement  of,  in  Sioux  County,  189- 
191;  distribution  and  growth  in 
number  of,  in  Iowa,  192-207 ;  over- 
flow lands  bought  by,  198;  inspec- 
tion of  new  lands  by,  199,  200; 
clannishness  of,  200,  315,  319; 
largest  settlement  of,  in  Iowa,  201 ; 
emigration  of,  from  Iowa,  204 ; 
lack  of  desire  of,  to  return  to  Hol- 
land, 205;  recent  immigration  of, 
to  Iowa,  205-207 ;  political  begin- 
nings among,    208-218;   political   ex- 


438 


INDEX 


periences  of,  in  Holland,  208,  209; 
oath  of  allegiance  to  United  States 
taken  by,  211,  212 ;  first  officers 
elected  by,  214;  translation  of  of- 
ficial documents  for,  214,  215;  in- 
fluence of,  in  Marion  County  poli- 
tics, 215;  rejoicing  of,  in  political 
freedom,  216-218;  participation  by, 
in  elections,  219-244;  astonishment 
of,  at  interest  of  Americans  in  pol- 
itics, 221 ;  reasons  for  support  of 
Democratic  party  bv,  222 ;  attitude 
of,  toward  slavery,  222,  223,  226; 
Democratic  party  supported  by,  224- 
232;  attitude  of,  toward  negro  suf- 
frage, 226,  227;  service  of,  In  Civil 
War,  230;  sympathy  of,  with  North, 
231;  journey  of,  to  Calliope,  236; 
safe  carried  away  by,  236,  237; 
victory  of,  over  Calliope  gang,  237; 
effort  to  exclude,  from  office,  239, 
240;  victory  of,  over  Americans, 
240;  offices  held  by,  240,  242,  410; 
newspapers  read  by,  245-255;  ob- 
jections of,  to  being  called  Germans, 
246;  pioneer  schools  among,  256- 
265;  means  of  education  among, 
256-286;  interest  of,  at  first  turned 
from  education  in  Iowa,  258,  259; 
parochial  schools  among,  266-270; 
lack  of  interest  in  Christian  educa- 
tion among,  267;  lack  of  interest 
of,  in  common  schools,  271 ;  effect 
of  common  school  education  among, 
271,  272;  interest  of,  in  higher  ed- 
ucation, 273-275;  attitude  of,  to- 
ward Central  University,  277-279; 
early  religious  life  among,  287-293  ; 
churches  among,  294-309 ;  religious 
life  of,  in  1910,  310-316;  tolerance 
of,  310;  benevolences  of,  311,  312; 
church  attendance  of,  312,  313; 
differences  between  Americans  and, 
in  religion,  314;  failure  of,  to  be- 
come assimilated  in  America,  318, 
319;  home  life  of,  322-324;  lack  of 
culture  among,  324;  change  in  life 
of,  on  coming  to  Iowa,  325;  democ- 
racy among,  325,  326;  attitude  of, 
on  liquor  question,  327  ;  amusements 
of,  328,  329  ;  adoption  of  American 
ways  by,  329 ;  prosperity  of,  as 
farmers,  329-336;  improvement  of 
soil  fertility  by,  333  ;  interest  of,  in 
fine  breeds  of  live  stock,  333,  334; 
industry  of,  334;  adoption  of  new 
ideas  by,  334,  335;  conservatism 
of,  335 ;  lack  of  reading  among, 
335;  honesty  of,  336;  attitude  of, 
during  Boer  war,  349-362;  rejoic- 
ing of,  at  Boer  victories,  353,  354; 
money  sent  to  Boers  by,  354,  355 ; 
"Transvaal  Days"  held  by,  355; 
indignation  of,  at  tales  of  Boer  suf- 
ferings, 360,  361  ;  amount  of 
money  given  to  Boers  by,    362;   re- 


fusal of,  to  sell  horses,  362;  sta- 
tistics of  immigration  of,  376  (see 
also   Dutch) 

Hollidaysburg  (Pennsylvania),  51, 
385 

Holstein  cattle,   334 

Home,   choice  of,   in  Iowa,   57-64 

Homeseekers,  eagerness  of,  to  obtain 
land,    129,    130 

Homestead,  The,   335,    422 

Homesteads,  taking  of,  by  Hollanders, 
77;  applications  for,  signed  by 
Hollanders,  131;  apportionment  of, 
134;  law  relative  to  securing  of, 
134,  135;  visit  of  Hollanders  to, 
in  Sioux  County,  136;  act  for  re- 
lief of  holders  of,  171;  rise  in  value 
of,    199 

Hoog  Blokland  (Holland),  office  of 
Hospers   at,    151;   reference   to,   391 

Hope  College,  higher  education  re- 
ceived at,  274;  reference  to,  278, 
281,    283,   286,  303 

Hope   School,    269,   414 

Horses,  need  for  purchase  of,  161 ; 
herding  of,  182;  raising  of,  in 
Sioux  County,  333 ;  fine  breeds  of, 
334;  cost  of,  343;  purchase  of,  by 
English,  361,   362 

Hotels,   110 

House  of  Representatives,  resolution 
in,   118,   358 

Houses,    description   of,    322 

Howard    County,    Hollanders    in,    194 

Howell    Station,   390 

Hospers,  Henrv,  109,  124,  134,  154, 
180,  199,  240,  260,  280,  353,  409, 
412  ;  Governor's  message  translated 
by,  118,  119;  service  of,  as  immi- 
grant agent  in  Holland,  121,  151, 
152;  visit  of,  in  Missouri,  122; 
interest  of,  in  emigration  move- 
ment, 122,  123 ;  newspaper  edited 
by,  124,  150,  155,  156,  249,  250, 
252,  254;  early  career  of,  150,  151; 
third  of  land  on  town-site  given  to, 
131,  146;  member  of  investigating 
committee,  132  ;  journey  of,  to  Sioux 
City,  132;  settlement  in  Sioux 
County  promoted  by,  140,  150-159  ; 
colony  store  built  by,  147;  pamph- 
let published  by,  152 ;  report  of,  to 
Board  of  Immigration,  152,  153 ; 
position  of,  in  Sioux  County,  153, 
154,  244;  citizen's  club  urged  by, 
156;  advertisements  placed  in  news- 
papers by,  157 ;  prediction  of,  con- 
cerning Sioux  County,  158,  159; 
relief  for  Hollanders  solicited  by, 
165;  wise  counsel  and  cheerfulness 
of,  172-174;  service  of,  to  Dutch 
colony,  178;  account  of  founding 
of  colony  by,  190;  candidacy  of, 
for  surveyor,  222 ;  office  held  by, 
224,  235,  237,  242;  defeat  of.  for 
Representative,    233 ;    efforts    of,    to 


INDEX 


439 


secure  seating  of  officers,  236; 
suit  fought  by,  237,  238;  activities 
of,  as  editor,  238-240;  election  of, 
as  Representative,  243,  244 ;  news- 
paper sold  by,  251 ;  land  for  acad- 
emy donated  by,  282 ;  cane  pre- 
sented to,  400 

Hospers,  Isaac,  newspaper  edited  by, 
255 

Hospers,  John,  291,  412;  diary  of, 
391 

Hospers,  John  W.,  office  held  by,  242 

Hospers  (Iowa),  170,  173,  180,  191, 
284;  Dutch  church  at,  186,  302, 
306;  proportion  of  Hollanders  in, 
187;  population  of,  202;  money 
raised  for   Boers  at,    360 

Hudson,  Hendrik,  discovery  of  Hud- 
son  River  by,   15,   16 

Hudson  River,  discovery  of,  16 ; 
troubles  of  early  settlers  on,  17 ; 
Dutch  settlements  on,  18 ;  patroon 
system  established  along,  18 ;  refer- 
ence to,   25 

Huguenots,   immigration  of,   21 

Huizenga,  Frank  J.,  office  held  by, 
242 

Hull,  former  name  of,  186;  reference 
to,  191,  270;  population  of,  203; 
plan  for  parochial  school  at,  269; 
Dutch  church  at,  302,  306;  money 
raised  for  Boers  at,  360 

Hull    (North  Dakota),  204 

Humboldt  Countv,  Hollanders  in,  105, 
194 

Huntsman,   H.  C,  223 

Illinois,  Dutch  churches  in,  29 ;  Hol- 
landers in,  29,  376 ;  preference  of 
Scholte  for,  59 ;  unoccupied  lands 
in,  61  ;  reference  to,  115,  157,  159, 
204,  254,  382;  promotion  of  immi- 
gration  to,    120 

Illinois  Canal,   57 

Illinois  Central  Railroad,  promotion 
of  immigration  by,  120;  line  of, 
128 

Illinois  River,   99 

Immigrant  Commissioner  of  Iowa,  ap- 
pointment of,  120;  discontinuance 
of   office   of,    urged,    120 

Immigrants,  dangers  to,  48-50;  finan- 
cial condition  of,  95,  161,  162; 
temptations  experienced  by,  98 ;  ad- 
vice to,  by  Scholte,  98,  99 :  routes 
of,  99 ;  hardships  of,  on  journey, 
101;  selection  of  points  of  destina- 
tion by,  120;  protection  of,  at  New 
York  City,  120;  nationality  of,  376 
(see   also   Emigrants) 

Immigration,  studv  of,  7;  early  pro- 
motion of,  to  Pella,  94-100;  offi- 
cial encouragement  of,  99 ;  twenty- 
five  years  of,  101-105 ;  discussion 
of,  by  Scholte,  102,  103;  fluctu- 
ations   in,    104;    encouragement    of, 


by  State,  115-121;  promotion  of,  by 
western  States,  115;  encourage- 
ment of,  by  private  agencies,  116; 
promotion  of,  by  Wisconsin,  119; 
attitude  of  Hempstead  toward, 
119;  promotion  of,  to  Sioux 
County  by  Hospers,  150-159 ;  effect 
of  railroads  on,  187  (see  also  Emi- 
gration) 

Immigration,  Board  of,  members  of, 
120;  activities  of,  120,  121;  ap- 
pointment of  Hospers  by,  151;  re- 
port  of  Hospers   to,    152,    153 

Immigration,  Commissioner  of,  Per- 
kins  as,    187 

India,  search  for  passage  to,  16;  re- 
lief for  famine  sufferers  in,  311, 
352 

Indiana,  Dutch  colonies  in,  28 ;  Dutch 
churches  in,  29 ;  emigrants  from, 
65;  reference  to,  115,  159;  Hol- 
landers in,  376 

Indians,  trade  of  Dutch  with,  16,  18, 
19 ;  dangers  from,  17 ;  massacres 
by,  19;  arrogance  of,  20;  refer- 
ence to,  23,  61 ;  proximity  of,  in 
Michigan,  59;  land  ceded  by,  70; 
removal  of,  westward,  70,  71;  evi- 
dence of,  in  northwestern  Iowa, 
138 

Iowa,  origins  and  present-day  condi- 
tions of  Dutch  in,  7;  character  of 
history  of  Hollanders  in,  7,  8 : 
source  materials  for  history  of 
Dutch  in,  8 ;  Dutch  churches  in, 
29;  causes  of  immigration  to,  30; 
leader  of  immigrants  to,  32,  39; 
first  Dutch  immigrants  to,  45;  atti- 
tude of  Van  Raalte  toward,  57 ; 
choice  of  home  in,  57-64;  prefer- 
ence of  Scholte  for,  59 ;  examina- 
tion of  lands  in,  61-63  ;  selection  of 
land  in,  63,  64;  arrival  of  Hol- 
landers in,  65-69 ;  beginning  of  life 
of  Hollanders  in,  69 ;  capital  of,  at 
Iowa  City,  71;  advance  of  pioneers 
across,  71;  adaptation  of  Hollanders 
to  life  in,  81;  early  experiences  of 
Hollanders  in,  82-85;  drawbacks 
of  frontier  life  in,  86 ;  importance 
of  Keokuk  in  early  history  of,  87 ; 
importance  of  Mississippi  River  in 
early  commerce  of,  87,  88;  agita- 
tion in,  for  improvement  of  Des 
Moines  River,  88;  agitation  for 
railroads  in,  91 ;  choice  of  new 
site  for  capital  of,  91,  92;  begin- 
ning of  Dutch  immigration  to,  94; 
increase  in  number  of  foreign-born 
Hollanders  in,  94;  comparison  of 
Hollanders  in  Michigan  and,  94, 
95;  alleged  unhealthfulness  of,  95, 
96;  reasons  for  preference  for,  by 
Scholte,  96;  truthfulness  of  Scholte's 
account  of,  96,  97;  attempt  to  turn 
immigrants     from,     98 ;     routes     to, 


440 


INDEX 


99,  346 ;  failure  of,  to  endeavor  to 
attract  settlers,  99 ;  township  gov- 
ernment given  to  Hollanders  in,  99 ; 
twenty-five  years  of  Dutch  immigra- 
tion to,  101-105 ;  number  of  Hol- 
landers in,  103-105,  179,  187,  189, 
376;  relative  number  of  Dutch  in, 
105;  letters  relative  to  Hollanders 
in,  107,  108,  109,  110;  construc- 
tion of  railroads  in,  113;  celebra- 
tion of  quarter  centennial  of  Hol- 
landers in,  114;  encouragement  of 
immigration  by  State  of,  115-121; 
rapidity  of  settlement  of,  115;  na- 
tivity of  population  of,  115;  satis- 
faction of,  with  American  immigra- 
tion, 116;  sparsely  populated  areas 
in,  117;  poor  showing  in  foreign 
immigration  to,  119;  overcrowding 
of  part  of,  125 ;  means  of  keeping 
Hollanders  in,  149  ;  arrival  of  Hos- 
pers  in,  150;  efforts  of  Hospers  to 
secure  immigration  to,  151,  152; 
pamphlet  relative  to,  published  by 
Hospers,  152 ;  interest  in  Holland 
in  immigration  to,  152,  153; 
pamphlets  describing  resources  of, 
154;  pamphlet  by  Dutch  resident 
of,  156,  157 ;  account  of  Hollanders 
in,  157 ;  purchase  of  additional 
land  in,  by  Dutch,  159;  service  of 
Dutch  settlers  to,  169;  widespread 
devastation  by  locusts  in,  171;  dis- 
couragement of  settlers  in,  172 ; 
most  valuable  land  in,  178;  Dutch 
visitor  in,  188;  expansion  of  Dutch 
element  in,  192-207 ;  emigration  of 
Hollanders  from,  199,  200,  204; 
largest  Dutch  settlement  in,  201 ; 
recent  Dutch  immigration  to,  205- 
207 ;  desire  of  Hollanders  to  be- 
come permanent  citizens  of,  211 ; 
first  Dutch  candidate  for  office  in, 
222 ;  Dutch  newspapers  in,  245- 
255;  parochial  schools  of  Holland- 
ers in,  268-270;  loss  of  interest  in 
education  among  Hollanders  in, 
272;  reference  to,  287,  343;  early 
religious  life  among  Hollanders  in, 
287-293;  first  Dutch  Reformed 
Church  in,  296;  causes  of  Dutch 
immigration  to,  317;  community 
life  among  Hollanders  in,  317-336; 
character  of  Dutch  immigrants  to, 
317,  318,  329,  330;  fertility  of 
soil  of,  330;  best  farmers  in,  332; 
money  sent  to   Boers   from,    355 

Towa,  Territory  of,   71 

Iowa:  The  Home  for  Immigrants,  121 

Iowa  Center,   128 

Iowa  City,  capital  at,  71 ;  removal  of 
capital  from,  91,  92 ;  hog  law  in, 
109  ;  petition  for  removal  of  capital 
from,  223;  reference  to,  229,  275, 
355,    387 

Iowa  Classis,  membership  of  churches 


of,    302,    303;    contributions   of,    to 

missions,   312 
Iowa    Falls  and   Sioux    City    Railway, 

route   of,    128 ;   reference  to,   144 
Iowa     Transvaal     Committee,     money 

collected  by,  354,  355 ;  reference  to, 

361;    final    appeal    of,    for    money, 

362 
Ireland,     immigrants    from,     in    Sioux 

County,  187,   189;  reference  to,  376 
Ireton,   population  of,  203  ;   interest  in 

parochial     school     at,     269;     Dutch 

church    at,    306;    reference    to,    354 
Irish,   49,  51 ;   proportion  of,   in   Sioux 

County,  186,  203 
Italy,  376 

Jackson  County,  Hollanders  in,  105, 
392,  403 

Jails,  lack  of  need  for,   326,  327 

Jameson   Raid,    349 

Jansdam,  Mr.,  348 

Jasper  County,  choice  of  site  for  capi- 
tal in,  92 ;  Hollanders  in,  105,  195, 
197 ;  center  of  Dutch  population  of, 
196;    Dutch  churches   in,   297,   306 

Java,  attention  called  to  advantages 
of,  38;  reasons  for  failure  of  Dutch 
to  emigrate  to,  38 ;  population  of, 
373  ;  reference  to,  380 

Jefferson  County,  Hollanders  in,  105, 
195 ;  reference  to,  223 

Jefferson  Township  (Mahaska  Coun- 
ty), Hollanders  in,  197 

Jefferson  Township  (Marion  County), 
land  purchased   by  Scholte   in,   70 

John  Calvin  Junior  College,   307 

Johnson,  H.  F.,  newspaper  published 
by,  251 

Johnson  County,  hog  law  in,   109 

Johnstown     (Pennsylvania),      51,  385 

Jongewaard,  Albert  C,  office  held  by, 
242 

Jongewaard,  C,  223 

Jongewaard,  John,  office  held  by,  242 

Jongewaard,  Nicholas,  office  held  by, 
237,    242 

Joubert,  Piet,    355 

Junction  City,   133 

Juniata  River,  51,   385 

Justice  of  the  peace,  109,  214 

Kalamazoo  (Michigan),  Hollanders  in, 
157,  158;  reference  to,  188,  251, 
420 

Kampen    (Holland),   151,  295 

Kanawha,    church    at,    420 

Kansas,  Dutch  churches  in,  29 ;  emi- 
gration to,  123,  199 ;  exodus  from, 
171 ;  distress  among  Hollanders  in, 
174;    reference  to,   254,  284 

Kapelle    (Holland),  185 

Keizer,  J.,   360 

Kentucky,  Dutch  pioneers  in,  28; 
reference  to,  115 

Keokuk,  arrival  of  Hollanders  at,   66 ; 


INDEX 


441 


journey  to  Marion  County  from, 
67 ;  Scholte  aided  by  citizens  of, 
71;  difficulty  of  communication 
with,  87  ;  commerce  at,  87 ;  road  to 
Pella  from,  88;  cost  of  freight  to 
Pella  from,  88  ;  reference  to,  89,  99, 
101,  114,  120,  230,  251,  392;  plan 
for  plank-road  to  Pella  from,  91 ; 
Hollanders  in,  103,  192,  193;  haul- 
ing of  merchandise  from,  113;  de- 
scription of  Sioux  County  by  editor 
from,    180;    Dutch  church   at,   297 

Keppel,  Teunis,  investigations  by,  58; 
reference  to,  61 

Kersbergen,  B.,   234 

Kieft,  Governor,  conditions  under  rule 
of,    19:   complaint    against,    20 

Killduff,  Hollanders  near,  197;  Dutch 
church  at,  297 

Kingston   (New  York),  26 

Kirkwood,  Samuel  J.,  119,  230;  nomi- 
nation of,  for  Governor,  228 ;  vote 
of  Holimders  for,  229,  231,  241; 
appeal  of,  for  volunteers,   230 

Kitchener,   General,  361 

Klay,  Gerrit,  service  of,  as  Repre- 
sentative, 244 

Kline,  A.,  service  of,  in  Boer  armies, 
359 

Klundert  (Holland),  conference  of 
Hospers  at,  152 

Kniest,  Lambert,  town  founded  by, 
195 

Kniest  Township  (Carroll  County), 
Hollanders  in,   195 

Know-Nothing  party,  doctrines  of, 
221 ;  opposition  of  Hollanders  to, 
222 ;  victory  of,  222 ;  editorial 
against,   407 

Knoxville,  71,  211,  233;  county  seat 
at,  92;  railroad  to,  114;  desire  for 
change  of  county  seat  from,  213; 
county  seat  retained  by,  214;  school 
attendance  in,   271 

Knoxville  Township  (Marion  County), 
Hollanders  in,  196;  common 
schools  in,   271 

Kolvoord,   John,   office  held  by,    242 

Kolyn,   Matthew,    283 

Koolbeek,  Jacob,  office  held  by,  242 

Kornegoor,   W.   J.,  294 

Kossuth  County,  128,  332  ;  church  in, 
419,    420 

Kritzinger,  Commander,  protest  against 
execution  of,  361 

Kruger,     Paul,    355,    356 

Kruger,    Mr.,    356 

Kuyper,  A.  C,   291,  391,  412 

Kuyper,  Simon,  journey  of,  to  Michi- 
gan, 159;  reference  to,  240;  office 
held  by,  242 

Laborers,  condition  of,  in  Holland,  34, 

35 ;  wages  of,  81 
Lake  Forest  College,  274 


Lake    Prairie,    Dlan    for    factories    on, 

89,  90 
Lake  Prairie  Township  (Marion 
County),  land  purchased  by  Scholte 
in,  70;  number  of  Hollanders  in, 
102,  103-105,  196;  insufficiency  of 
land  in,  104;  reference  to,  107, 
226,  406;  organization  of,  212; 
first  officers  of,  214;  vote  on  pro- 
hibitory law  in,  220;  influence  of 
Scholte  in  politics  in,  220;  Know- 
Nothing  victory  in,  222  ;  politics  in, 
232;  school  districts  in,  260;  com- 
mon schools  in,  271  ;  population  of, 
391 

Land,  amount  of,  authorized  to  be 
purchased,  44;  purchase  of,  in 
Marion  County,  63,  64 ;  description 
of,  in  Marion  County,  70,  71; 
amount  of,  purchased  by  Scholte, 
71;  price  of,  71,  398;  choice  of,  by 
lot,  72 ;  rise  in  price  of,  126,  141 ; 
amount  of,  selected  by  committee, 
133 ;  apportionment  of,  to  home- 
steaders, 134;  high  price  of,  in 
Michigan  and  eastern  States,  158; 
fertilitv  of,  owned  by  Hollanders, 
332 

Land  companies,  encouragement  of 
immigration  by,   116 

Land  Office  (Fairfield),  visit  of  Hol- 
landers to,   62,   63 

Land  Office  (Sioux  City),  129,  135; 
investigating  committee  at,  130,  131 

Langerak,    D.    W.,    234 

Langerak,   Meyer,   234,   409 

Language,  variety  of,  among  Hol- 
landers, 327,  328  (see  also  Dutch 
language) 

Lawns,  care   of,    320 

Lebanon,  interest  in  parochial  school 
at,  269;   Dutch  church   at,   306 

Le  Cocq,  Francis,  240 ;  office  held  bv, 
242 

Le    Cocq,   J.    F.,    46,    47 

Lee  County,  half-breed  tract  in,  61 ; 
Hollanders    in,    105,    192,    193 

Leerdam    (Iowa),   laying   out   of,    390 

Leeuwarden  (Holland),  151;  confer- 
ence of  Hospers  at,  152 

Leffler,  Shepherd,  vote  of  Hollanders 
for,  241 

Leighton,    Dutch   church   at,    297,    306 

Le  Mars,  133,  144,  191,  354,  395; 
railroad  to,  139,  141;  merchandise 
hauled  from,  145 ;  Hollanders  in, 
200;  Dutch  church  at,  302,  306; 
mass  meeting  at,  359 

Lenderink,  Henry  J.,  office  held  by, 
242 

Leota    (Minnesota),   204 

Leyden  (Holland),  emigration  from, 
16;    reference  to,   295 

Levden,    University  of,   31 

Leyds,    Dr.,    355 


442 


INDEX 


Liberty  Township  (Marion  County), 
Hollanders  in,  196 

Library,    public,    111 

Liebenberg,  Commandant,  visit  of,  to 
Iowa,  360 

Lime-kilns,    80,    90,   110 

Lincoln,  Abraham,  nomination  of, 
229;  efforts  of  Scholte  in  behalf  of, 
229;   reference  to,  230,  232 

Lincoln   Center,   church   at,   419 

Lincoln  Township  (Sioux  County), 
population  of,  203 

Tiind,  John,  contribution  of,  to  Boer 
fund,   355 

Linden    (Washington),  204 

Litchville    (North  Dakota),    204 

Little  Chute   (Wisconsin),  251 

Little   Rock,    church   at,    419 

Live-stock,   77;   cost  of,   343 

Liverpool   (England),  46 

Locusts,  ravages  by,  160-178;  act  of 
Congress  relative  to  settlers  suffer- 
ing from,  171  (see  also  Grasshop- 
pers) 

Log  cabins,  contract  for  construction 
of,   67 ;  reference  to,  70 

London  (England),  46;  British  ships 
burned  in   sight   of,    246 

Long  Island,    19 ;   churches  on,    26 

Louis  XIV,  expulsion  of,  from  Hol- 
land, 246 

Luctor     (Minnesota),    204 

Lumber,  lack  of,  75,  141;  manufac- 
ture of,    76 

Lynn  Township  (Sioux  County), 
population    of,    202 

Lynn  Grove  Township  (Jasper  Coun- 
ty),   Hollanders  in,   197 

Lynnville,   Hollanders   near,    197 

Lyon  County,  available  land  in,  131; 
decision  of  committee  to  examine, 
133;  reference  to,  137,  138,  254, 
332,  399 ;  inspection  of,  by  com- 
mittee from  Michigan,  158;  Hol- 
landers in,  159,  200,  201,  204;  in- 
vestigation of  locust  ravages  in,  165- 
167;  Dutch  churches  in,  302,  306, 
419 ;  foreign-born  farmers  in,  421, 
422 

Maasdam,    Mr.,    356 

Maasdam,  Jacob,  291,  391 

Maastroom    (ship),    46 

McCulIy,  H.  M.,  office  held  by,  224; 
reference  to,   234 

Machinery,  purchase  of,  on  credit, 
162,    163 

McKinley,  William,  attacks  upon,  243, 
359;  attitude  of  Hollanders  toward, 
349,  350;  reference  to,  358,   361 

Madison  Township  (Mahaska  Coun- 
ty),  Hollanders  in,    197 

Magazines,  lack  of,   324 

Mahaska  County,  67,  232;  Hollanders 
in,  104,   105,  192,  195,  197;  center 


of  Dutch  population  of,  196;  Dutch 
official  in,  233;  parochial  school  in, 
269;    Dutch    churches   in,    297,    306 

Maine,   Dutch  churches  in,  29 

Manhattan,    26 

Manhattan  Island,  settlement  of  Dutch 
on,   16 

Marion  County,  story  of  Dutch  settle- 
ment in,  7 ;  purchase  of  land  in, 
63,  64;  conditions  upon  arrival  of 
Dutch  in,  67,  68 ;  description  of,  in 
1847,  70-72;  establishment  of,  71; 
population  of,  71,  391 ;  establish- 
ment of  Dutch  in,  73-81 ;  agricul- 
tural character  of  Dutch  colony  in, 
76;  early  years  of  Hollanders  in, 
82-85;  passing  of  gold  seekers 
through,  84 ;  hopes  and  disappoint- 
ments of  Hollanders  in,  86-93 ;  agi- 
tation for  railroads  in,  91,  92 ; 
hopes  for  colony  in,  96 ;  accession 
to  Hollanders  in,  102-105 ;  spread 
of  Dutch  settlement  in,  104,  196, 
197;  number  of  Hollanders  in,  105, 
192;  reference  to,  117,  145,  153, 
179,  195,  225,  228,  276,  329,  332, 
358,  407;  reasons  for  emigration 
from,  122-126,  198,  199;  purchase 
of  land  in,  by  speculators,  141 ;  first 
dwellings  in,  142 ;  decrease  of 
Dutch  population  of,  196;  center  of 
Dutch  population  of,  196;  political 
beginnings  among  Hollanders  in, 
208-218;  township  government  given 
to  Hollanders  in,  212;  desire  for 
change  of  county  seat  of,  213;  in- 
fluence of  Hollanders  in  politics  of, 
215;  politics  in,  219-234;  vote  on. 
prohibitory  law  in,  220;  vote  for 
Pierce  in,  220;  Know-Nothing  party 
in,  221;  vote  for  Buchanan  in, 
226;  Representative  from,  233; 
Dutch  officers  of,  233,  234;  first 
Dutch  newspaper  in,  238;  Ameri- 
can press  in,  249;  reasons  for  early 
lack  of  education  in,  258,  259;  at- 
traction of  wealth  in,  272 ;  high 
school  graduates  in,  274;  early  re- 
ligious life  in,  288-293;  disappear- 
ance of  hardwood  timber  in,  321 ; 
laying  of  tile  in,  333;  silos  in,  335; 
mortgages  in,  336 

Markets,  absence  of  convenient,  86; 
difficulty  of  communication  with,  87 ; 
method  of  securing  supplies  from, 
87,  88 

Marne   Free  Press,   255 

Marshalltown,    193 

Mason,  W.  E.,  356 

Masons,   80 

Maurice,  Dutch  church  at,  186,  302 ; 
railroad  to,  187;  reference  to,  191, 
284,  354  ;  population  of,  203  ;  mass 
meetings  at,  358,  359;  moner  raised 
for    Boers    at,    360 

Mayors  of  Pella,   109,  224 


INDEX 


443 


Meat,   price  of,   343 

Medical   school,   280,   281 

Meerburg,    G.    F.    Gezelle,    32 

Melbourne,   129,   130 

Melvin,    church    at,    419 

Merchandise,  hauling  of,  from  Le 
Mars,    144 

Merchants,  desire  of,  for  commercial 
gain,    15,    16 

Merrill,  Samuel,  recommendation  of, 
120;  message  of,  translated  into 
Dutch    language,    153 

Methodist    Church,    109,    418 

Mexican  War,  land  warrants  to  veter- 
ans of,  71 

Mexico,  81 

Michigan,  Dutch  churches  in,  29,  295  ; 
Hollanders  in,  29,  376;  causes  of 
immigration  to,  30,  317;  establish- 
ment of  Dutch  settlement  in,  57, 
382  ;  reasons  for  choice  of,  57  ;  rea- 
sons for  rejection  of,  by  Scholte, 
58-60,  96;  beginning  of  Dutch  im- 
migration to,  94 ;  comparison  of 
Hollanders  in  Iowa  and,  94,  95 ; 
advantages  of,  for  settlement,  95 ; 
pamphlet  describing  Dutch  colony 
in,  95;  newcomers  advised  to  go 
to,  98  ;  official  encouragement  of  im- 
migration to,  99 ;  township  govern- 
ment given  to  Hollanders  in,  99 
reference  to,  117,  150,  157,  158 
173,  204,  254,  287,  304,  305;  com 
mittee  from,  in  Sioux  County,  158 
Dutch  emigrants  from,  159,  161 
199;  journey  of  Kuyper  to,  159 
Dutch  newspaper  published  in,  247 
249;  failure  of  educational  program 
in,  268;  establishment  of  colleges 
in,  281 ;  language  question  in 
churches  in,  296;  experience  of 
Bolks  in,  298 ;  anti-Masonic  move- 
ment in,   307;  emigration  from,   399 

Middelburg,  Dutch  church  at,  186, 
302,  306;  reference  to,  191,  201; 
interest  in  parochial  school  at,  2  69; 
money  raised  for   Boers   at,    360 

Middelkoop,    William,    151 

Middle  West,  fore-runners  of  Dutch 
emigration  to,  45 

Midwout,   26 

Mills,    F.    M.,   election   of,   227 

Millstone   River,   27 

Milwaukee,  57,  158,  251,  381;  Hol- 
landers in,    157,   158 

Ministers,  education  of,   303,  307 

Minnesota,  Dutch  churches  in,  29 ; 
Hollanders  in,  29,  376;  reference 
to,  159,  204,  254,  354,  421;  Dutch 
emigrants  from,  161;  devastation 
by  locusts  in,  171;  discouragement 
of  settlers  in,  172;  emigration  to, 
199,   204 

Missions,  contributions  to,  312 

Mississippi,    emigration  to,   20  4 

Mississippi  River,   52,    99,    339 ;    jour- 


ney up,  66,  340-342 ;  Des  Moines 
rapids  in,  87 ;  importance  of,  to 
early  Iowa,  87,  88 ;  Hollanders  in 
counties  along,   193 

Mississippi  Valley,  Hollanders  in,  29 ; 
conditions  in,  45;  route  from  East 
to,    52 

Missouri,    115,   386 

Missouri  River,  crossing  of,  by  emi- 
grants,  122 

Mohawk  River,  25 

Money,  lack  of,  79 ;  spending  of,  by 
Americans,  79,  80 

Monroe,   Hollanders  near,    197 

Monroe  City,  choice  of,  as  site  for 
capital,  92 

Monroe    County,     Hollanders    in,    197 

Monroe  Mirror,  The,  255 

Montana,  Dutch  churches  in,  29 

Moonlight  Mission  Band,  360 

Mormons,  emigration  of,  84 ;  refer- 
ence to,  159;  preparation  of,  for 
emergencies,  172;  proposition  of,  to 
sell  Nauvoo,  386 

Mount    Carmel,    founding   of,    195 

Muilenburg,  Hubert,  member  of  in- 
vestigating committee,   127 

Muilenburg,  William  C,  newspaper 
edited  by,  255 

Mumm,   E.,   120 

Municipal   improvements,  326 

Muntingh,  James,  school  maintained 
by,   259 

Muscatine,  Dutch  church  in,  193,  297  ; 
reference  to,  230 

Muscatine  County,  Hollanders  in,  105, 
192,   193 

Music,    interest  of   Hollanders  in,    323 

Nagasaki    (ship),   46 

Napoleon,  31,  65,  287 

Nassau  Township  (Sioux  Countv), 
148,  153,  240;  Hollanders  in,  180; 
reduction  of  size  of,  185;  popula- 
tion of,  186,  202;  proportion  of 
Hollanders  in,   187;   politics  in,  241 

Nauvoo,  proposition  of  Mormons  to 
sell,  386 

Nebraska,  Dutch  churches  in,  29 ; 
emigration  to,  122,  123,  199 ;  exo- 
dus from,  171;  reference  to,  354, 
421 

Nederlansehe   Bond,   Der,    365 

Negro  suffrage,  attitude  of  Hollanders 
toward,  226,   227 

Netherlands,  The,  struggle  between 
Spain  and,  23  ;  social  conditions  in, 
30;  economic  conditions  in,  37;  de- 
cision of  Scholte  to  leave,  39 ;  num- 
ber of  emigrants  from,  103  ;  news- 
papers sent  to,  150;  efforts  of 
Hospers  in,  to  encourage  emigra- 
tion, 151,  152;  delegate  from,  to 
Evangelical  Alliance,  154;  emi- 
grants from,  161;  lack  of  desire  of 
Hollanders      to      return      to,      205 ; 


444 


INDEX 


newspaper    agents    in,    251 ;     refer- 
ence to,  307    (see  also  Holland) 

Nevada    (Iowa),    128 

New  Amstel,  26 

New  Amsterdam,  character  of  early 
population  of,  22;  reference  to,  26; 
school  system  in,  256;  descriptions 
of  people  of,  369 

New  Brunswick   Seminary,    303 

New  Castle    (Delaware),    26 

New  England,  causes  of  early  immi- 
gration to,  17;  reference  to,  19,  21, 
23;  school  system  in,  262 

Now  Holland,  proposed  town  of,  131; 
reference   to,   146,    373 

New  Jersey,  prosperity  of  Dutch  in, 
25;  reference  to,  26,  157,  159,  304, 
305 ;  Dutch  churches  in,  27,  29 ; 
emigration  of  Dutch  to,  27;  emi- 
gration from,  28 ;  Hollanders  in, 
29,  376,   377 

New  Netherland,  beginnings  of,  15, 
16;  provision  relative  to  peopling 
of,  16;  reasons  for  slow  growth  of, 
17-21;  complaint  relative  to,  18; 
plan  for  direction  of  settlers  to,  18 ; 
settlements  in,  18;  conditions  in, 
under  Governor  Kieft,  19 ;  instruc- 
tions to  settlers  of,  20;  petition 
from  people  of,  20,  21;  beginning 
of  agricultural  settlements  in,  21; 
defenceless  condition  of,  21;  effect 
of  capture  of,  by  English,  21.  22 : 
character  of  early  population  of 
22;  capture  of,  by  English,  25;  in 
heritance  from,  25 ;  number  of 
churches  in,  26,  27 ;  descendants  of 
colonists  of,  28;  reference  to,  373 
New  Orleans,  arrival  of  Hollanders 
att,  45 ;  reference  to,  87,  88,  99, 
123,  158,  342,  382;  arrival  of 
Barendregt  at,  339;  description  of, 
339,  340;  distance  to  St.  Louis 
from,  340;  fare  to  St.  Louis  from, 
340;    travel    by   way    of,    346 

New   Paltz    (New  York),   19 

New  Purchase,   The,   70 

New  Sharon,  Hollanders  near,  197; 
reference   to,    198 

New  York,  character  of  early  popula- 
tion of,  22  ;  prosperity  of,  Dutch  in, 
25;  Dutch  churches  in,  26,  27,  29; 
emigration  of  Dutch  from,  27 ; 
predominance  of  Hollanders  in,  27; 
Hollanders  in,  29,  246,  376,  377; 
Scholte  invited  to  preach  in,  55 ; 
collections  for  Hollanders  in  Michi- 
gan taken  in,  58;  reference  to,  115, 
157,  159,  304;  school  system  in, 
262;  descendants  of  original  Dutch 
settlers  of,   375 

New  York  City,  Scholte  at,  48,  55,  58 ; 
conditions  in  port  at,  50;  method 
of  shipping  merchandise  from,  87, 
88;  reference  to,  89,  98,  99,  158, 
294,    315,    381,    382;    immigration 


agents  in,  117;  Immigrant  Com- 
missioner at,  120;  protection  of 
immigrants  in,  120;  Evangelical 
Alliance  at,  154;  Hollanders  in, 
157,  158,  376;  travel  by  way  of, 
346 

New  York  land  company,  Iowa  land 
owned  by,  61 

New  York  Tribune,   247 

New  Zealand,   373 

Newkirk,  former  name  of,  186 :  refer- 
ence to,  190;  population  of,  202; 
Dutch  church  at,  302 ;  meeting  at, 
361 

Newspaper,  founding  of  first  at  Pella, 
150 

Newspapers,  advertisement  of  Dutch 
colony  in,  154;  influence  of,  231, 
232;  sketch  of  Dutch,  in  Iowa,  245- 
255 ;  importance  of,  in  America, 
247;  characteristic  of  Dutch,  254; 
service  of,  in  perpetuating  Dutch 
language,  255 ;   lack  of,   324 

Newton,  128 

Neyenesch,  Herman,  office  held  by, 
224;  newspaper  edited  by,  250, 
251;  service  of,  as  teacher,  263, 
267;  reference  to,  279 

Niemeyer,  Rev.,  360 

Nieuwsbode,  De,  247 

Nollen,    Henrv,   279 

Nollen,  Henry  G.,   415 

Nollen,  John,  office  held  bv,  224; 
reference  to,   2  79,    353,   415' 

Nollen,    John    Scholte,    274 

Norman    stallions,    334 

North   America,    145 

North  Brabant,   382 

North  Dakota,  Dutch  churches  in,  29; 
emigration  to,  204;  reference  to, 
254,   354,    421 

North  Holland,  327 

North  Marion    (North  Dakota),   204 

North  Orange,  change  of  name  of, 
186;  Dutch  church  at,  186,   302 

North  Sea,  45 

North  Yakima    (Washington),   204 

Northwest    Passage,   search    for,    16 

Northwestern  Classical  Academy, 
sketch  of  history  of,  190,  280-286; 
reference  to,  270,   273,  303 

Northwestern  Iowa,  investigation  of, 
127-131;  report  on,  131;  descrip- 
tion of,  136,  137;  evidence  of  In- 
dians in,  138;  Dutch  emigration  to, 
140;  locust  ravages  in,  160:  desti- 
tution in,  164:  relief  for,  164-169; 
Hollanders  in,  200,  201 ;  spread  of 
Dutch  churches  in,  298 ;  education 
of  ministers  in,  303 ;  Dutch 
churches  in,   306 

Norway,  immigrants  from,  in  Sioux 
County,  187,  189;  reference  to,  376 

Norwegian  language,  118 

Norwegians,  203 


INDEX 


445 


Nossaman,   Wellington,   election   of,   as 

road  supervisor,  214 
Notaries  public,  109,   153 

Oak  Harbor    (Washington),   204 

Oats,  77,  170;  production  of,  in 
Sioux  County,   332 

Obertop,  Caesar,  assistance  to  Hol- 
landers by,   392 

O'Brien  County,  available  land  in, 
131;  population  of,  138;  investiga- 
tion of  locust  ravages  in,  165-167; 
Hollanders  in,  200,  201,  203,  204; 
reference  to,  254,  399;  Dutch 
churches  in,    302,  306 

Officers,  first  election  of,  by  Holland- 
ers, 214;  treatment  of  Hollanders 
by,    55,    56,    60,    210 

Offices,  list  of,  held  by  Hollanders, 
233,    234,    240,    242 

Oggel,  E.  O,  office  held  by,  242 

Oggel,  H.  P.,  newspaper  published  by, 
254 

Oggel,  P.  J.,  newspaper  edited  by, 
249,   250;    reference   to,    296 

Ohio,  Dutch  colonists  in,  28;  Dutch 
churches  in,  29 ;  emigrants  from, 
65;  reference  to,  115,  159;  school 
system  in,  262;   Hollanders  in,   376 

Ohio  River,  journey  of  Hollanders 
down,   52;   reference   to,    88,   382 

Oklahoma,   emigration  to,   200 

Orange,  application  of  name,  to  town- 
ships, 396 

Orange  City,  platting  of,  140-149; 
naming  of,  145 ;  original  plat  of, 
146;  streets  in,  146;  first  buildings 
in,  146,  147,  280;  effect  of  rail- 
road on  development  of,  147 ; 
county  seat  removed  to,  148,  180, 
237;  number  of  Hollanders  in,  148, 
179,  201 ;  importance  of,  149 ;  visit 
of  Stuart  to,  154;  newspaper 
founded  by  Hospers  at,  155,  156; 
citizen's  club  at,  urged  by  Hospers, 
156;  reference  to,  157,  166,  182, 
235,  236,  244,  270,  284,  298,  303, 
354,  359,  395 ;  advantages  of,  for 
settlement,  158 ;  railroad  connec- 
tions of,  158,  187;  efforts  of  Hos- 
pers to  attract  immigrants  to,  159; 
progress  of,  173 ;  advice  of  editor 
at,  175;  financial  stringency  at, 
177;  twenty-five  years  of  growth 
in,  179-191";  excursion  from  Pella 
to,  183-185;  Dutch  church  at,  185, 
306;  proportion  of  Hollanders  in, 
187 ;  description  of,  by  Dutch  visi- 
tor, 188;  celebration  of  quarter  cen- 
tennial of,  189-191;  sketch  of  his- 
tory of,  190;  safe  carried  to,  237; 
court-house  at,  238,  243;  newspaper 
removed  to,  252 ;  newspapers  at, 
252-254;  parochial  school  at,  269; 
academy  at,  273,  282;  high  school 
pupils  in,  273,  274;   students  from, 


at  University,  275 ;  medical  school 
at,  280,  28l";  description  of  church 
service  at,  299-301 ;  municipal  im- 
provements at,  326;  expulsion  of 
saloons  from,  327 ;  resolution  of 
council  of,  relative  to  Boers,  356- 
358;  mass  meetings  at,  358,  359; 
money  raised  for  Boers  at,  360; 
price  of  land  near,  398 :  school 
property  at,  414;  celery  raising  at, 
420,  421 

Orange  Free  State,  appeal  for  aid  for, 
353 ;  resolutions  of  councils  rela- 
tive to  war  in,  355-358 ;  reference 
to,  374 

Orange   Free   State   Volksraad,    359 

Orangemen,  pride  in  name  of,  145 

Orange-Nassau,    House    of,    145 

Orange  Township  (Clinton  County), 
Hollanders  in,   193 

Orchards,    scarcity   of,    321 

Oregon,  emigration  of  Mormons  to, 
84;    emigration  of  Dutch  to,   123 

Osceola  County,  137,  138;  investiga- 
tion of  locust  ravages  in,  165-167; 
Hollanders  in,  200;  churches  in, 
419 

Oskaloosa,  Hollanders  in,  197 ;  refer- 
ence to,    198;  Dutch  church  at,   306 

Ostfriesland,    church    at,    420 

Otley,  Dutch  church  at,  297,  306; 
mass  meetings   at,    358,    359 

Ottumwa,    89 ;   railroad  to,   113 

Overflow  lands,   198 

Overisel    (Michigan),   298 

Overkamp,  G.  H.,   46,  288 

Overkamp,  Isaac,  46,  47,  61,  223,  290, 
412;  office  held  by,  214,  224;  ser- 
vice of,  as  teacher,  260,  261,  263, 
267 

Overseers  of  the  poor,  214 

Overysel   (Holland),   327,  382 

Painters,    80 

Palo  Alto  County,  128 

Parker,  Alton  B.,  vote  of  Hollanders 
for,  241 

Parkersburg,  Hollanders  in,  194; 
church    at,    419,   420 

Parochial  schools,  266-270;  religious 
exercises  in,  270;  graduates  from, 
270 

Paterson  (New  Jersey),  Hollanders 
in,   158;   reference  to,    187,  251 

Patroons,  effect  of  system  of  land- 
holding  by,  18 

Pattersonville,  change  of  name  of,  186; 
church   at,    186;  railroad  to,   187 

Pedlers,  20 

Pella,  9,  120,  158,  173,  188,  197, 
237,  269;  laying  out  of,  73,  74; 
motto  of  inhabitants  of,  74 ;  dwell- 
ings in,  76;  previous  occupations 
of  early  settlers  of,  80;  description 
of  conditions  at,  81;  arrival  of 
large    group    of    Hollanders   at,    83 ; 


446 


INDEX 


business  life  in,  83,  94,  114;  pass- 
ing of  gold-seekers  through,  84,  85 ; 
post-route  to,  86,  87 ;  road  from 
Keokuk  to,  88;  cost  of  freight  from 
Keokuk  to,  88 ;  importance  of  Des 
Moines  River  improvement  to,  89 ; 
plan  of  merchants  of,  91 ;  plan  for 
plank  road  from  Keokuk  to,  91 ; 
advantageous  situation  of,  91 ;  peti- 
tions for  location  of  capital  at.  92  ; 
early  promotion  of  immigration  to, 
94-100;  letters  by  Scholte  describ- 
ing, 96-99;  arrival  of  new  families 
at,  98,  101-105;  price  of  lots  at, 
99 ;  desirability  of,  as  place  for 
settlement,  102,  103  ;  prosperity  at, 
106-114;  Germans  and  French  at, 
106;  location  of  Central  University 
at,  106,  107 ;  American  business 
men  at,  107;  nationality  of  popula- 
tion of,  107;  description  of,  108-112, 
320,  322,  326;  difficulty  with  stock 
running  at  large  in,  109 ;  city  offi- 
cers of,  109 ;  Dutch  churches  in, 
109,  110,  417,  418;  business 
houses  in,  110;  stage  route  through, 
112;  first  locomotive  in,  113;  re- 
joicing in,  at  completion  of  rail- 
road, 113,  114;  celebration  of 
quarter  centennial  of,  114;  ac- 
counts of,  by  Scholte,  116;  reports 
from,  by  Sipma,  116;  absence  of 
need  for  advertising,  116,  117; 
value  of  advice  of  people  of,  117; 
Governor's  message  printed  in  paper 
at,  118 ;  reasons  for  emigration 
from,  122-126 ;  increase  in  popula- 
tion of,  122 ;  colonization  fever  in, 
123;  meetings  at,  to  discuss  colo- 
nization, 124,  125 ;  departure  of 
investigating  committee  from,  127; 
route  of  investigating  committee 
from,  128 ;  amount  of  land  sub- 
scribed for  by  people  of,  131:  pub- 
lic meeting  at,  131;  return  of  com- 
mittee to,  131,  134;  apportion- 
ment of  land  to  emigrants  from, 
134 ;  visit  of  emigrants  from,  to 
Sioux  County,  136;  interest  in  emi- 
gration at,  140;  effect  of  prosperity 
at,  141 ;  emigration  of  pioueers  of, 
141;  attitude  of  settlers  of,  toward 
King  William,  145 ;  importance  of 
founding  of  daughter-colony  of,  148, 
149 ;  career  of  Hospers  at,  150, 
151;  resignation  of  Hospers  as 
mayor  of,  153 ;  emigrants  from, 
161 ;  relief  supplies  sent  to  Sioux 
County  from,  164;  excursion  to 
Orange  City  from,  183-185;  pro- 
portion of  Hollanders  in,  196; 
Dutch  settlements  around,  197, 
198;  oath  of  allegiance  taken  at, 
211,  212;  influence  of  Scholte  in 
politics  in,  220;  incorporation  of, 
223 ;    petitions  for  removal  of  capi- 


tal to,  223 ;  opposition  of  Scholte 
to  phase  of  charter  of,  224;  first 
town  officers  of,  224;  response  to 
call  to  arms  in,  230;  newspapers  at, 
231,  232,  245-252  ;  politics  in, 
232 ;  private  school  at,  259 ;  first 
schoolhouse  at,  260;  school  dis- 
trict organized  at,  260;  need  for 
new  school  building  at,  261,  262 ; 
beginnings  of  Baptist  college  at, 
263;  new  school  building  at,  263, 
264;  election  of  school  directors  at, 
265;  parochial  school  at,  266-268, 
270;  school  statistics  in,  271; 
academy  at,  273 ;  high  school  at, 
273  ;  high  school  pupils  in,  273, 
274;  history  of  Central  University 
at,  276-279;  earlv  religious  life  at, 
287-293;  first  Dutch  church  at, 
288;  first  Sunday-school  at,  291; 
history  of  churches  at,  295-297; 
305,  306;  language  question  in 
churches  at,  296;  education  of 
ministers  at,  303 ;  pew  rents  at, 
312,  313.;  public  library  at,  324; 
municipal  improvements  at,  326; 
expulsion  of  saloons  from,  327;  de- 
scription of  Hollanders  at,  329, 
330;  unsecured  notes  in  banks  of, 
336;  resolution  of  council  of,  rela- 
tive to  Boers,  355,  356;  mass  meet- 
ings at,  358 ;  collection  of  money  for 
Boers  at,  360;  meaning  of  name, 
388 

Pella    (Nebraska),    199 

Pella   Blade,   sketch  of  history  of,   250 

Pella  Classis,  membership  of  churches 
of,  297,  298;  contributions  of,  to 
missions,    312 

Pella  Gazette,  Be,  sketch  of  history 
of,  250,  251 

Pella  Gazette,  The,  editors  of,  110, 
220;  founding  of,  220;  reference 
to,  226;  sketch  of  history  of,  245- 
249 ;  reasons  for  suspension  of, 
248,  249 

Pella  National  Bank,  422 

Pella's  Maandblad,   250 

Pella's  Nieuwsblad,  251;  bulletins 
posted  bv,  353 ;  attacks  on  McKin- 
ley  by,  359 

Pella's  Weekblad,  emigration  move- 
ment promoted  by,  124,  140;  Sioux 
County  colony  advertised  in,  150; 
reference  to,  154,  362;  sketch  of 
history  of,  249-252;  agents  for, 
251 

Pelmulder,  Jelle,  emigration  plan 
promoted  by,  123  ;  member  of  inves- 
tigating committee,  127;  letters  by, 
127,  128;  emigrant  train  led  by, 
140;  office  held  by,  233,  237,  342; 
reference  to,  240 

Pennsylvania,  Dutch  churches  in,  27, 
28,   29;    reference  to,  115 


INDEX 


447 


Pennsylvania  Canal  and  Portage 
Railway,  51 

Pennsylvania  Railroad,  construction 
of,   51 

Peoria  (Iowa),  parochial  school  at, 
269 

Percheron   stallions,    334 

Perkins,  George  D.,  efforts  of,  to  at- 
tract  immigrants,   187 

Perkins,  population    of,  203 

Peru  Township  (Dubuque  County), 
Hollanders  in,  103 

Pew    rents,    312,    313 

Philadelphia,  method  of  traveling  to 
Pittsburgh   from,    51 

Philippine  Islands,   243 

Pierce,    Franklin,    220 

"Pieter   Floris"    (ship),    46 

Pioneers,  homesteads  of,  70 ;  advance 
of,  across  Iowa,  71;  purchase  of 
farms  of,  83 ;  importance  of  Mis- 
sissippi  River  to,  87 

Pittsburgh,  method  of  traveling  from 
Philadelphia  to,  51 ;  reference  to, 
52;    Scholte  at,  55 

Plank-road,    91 

Plato  Township  (Sioux  County), 
population  of,  203 

Platte    (South    Dakota),   204 

Plymouth  County,  Hollanders  in,  105, 
200,  201,  204;  reference  to,  129, 
133,  137,  191,  254,  332,  399 ; 
population  of,  138;  investigation  of 
locust  ravages  in,  165-167;  Dutch 
church  in,  102,  306;  foreign-born 
farmers    in,    422 

Pocahontas  County,  128 

Poland,    376 

Poland   China    hogs,   334 

Politics,  participation  by  Hollanders 
in,    208-244 

Polk   County,   Hollanders  in,   105,    195 

Polk  Township  (Marion  County), 
Hollanders  in,   196 

Poor-house,  110 

Population,  growth  in,  in  Sioux 
County,  179-191;  growth  and 
spread  of   Dutch,   in  Iowa,    192-207 

rort,    M.  J.,    committee  guided  by,    63 

Portugal,   376 

Postmaster,    109 

Post-office,   relocation  of,   86 

Post-routes,  relocation  of,   86,   87 

Potatoes,    160 

Pottawattamie  Countv,  Hollanders  in, 
105,  194;  reference  to,  332;  for- 
eign-born   farmers  in,   422 

Poultry,  raising  of,  in  Sioux  County, 
333 

Prairie,  133;  description  of,  136,  137; 
breaking  of,  142,  143 ;  promises  to 
break,  147;  transformation  of,  inlo 
fields,  160,  161  ;  grass  left  on,  174, 
175 

j.  rairie  City,  Hollanders  near,  197; 
Dutch  church  at,  306 


Prairie  Township  'Mahaska  County), 
Hollanders   in,    197 

Prairie   View    (Kansas),    199 

Preemptions,  law  relative  to,  135;  act 
for  relief  of   settlers  making,    171 

Presbyterians,  kindness  of,  to  Hol- 
landers, 56 

President,   election   of,    215,    216 

Press,  sketch  of  Dutch,  in  Iowa,  245- 
255 

Prince   of  Orange,   145 

Privation,  years  of,   at   Pella,   82-85 

Products  (agricultural),  77;  difficulty 
in  securing  transportation  of,  87; 
prices   for,    106 

Prohibitory  law,  vote  of  Hollanders 
against,  220,  225 

Promissory  notes,  signing  of,  by  Hol- 
landers, 163;  attempts  to  evade 
payment    of,    169 

Prosecuting    attorney,    242 

Public  library,  324 

Puritans,    21,    277;    character    of,    24 

Racine    (Wisconsin),  57 

Railroads,  lack  of,  86,  138;  agitation 
for,  91,  92  ;  construction  of,  in 
Iowa,  113;  encouragement  of  immi- 
gration by,  116;  land  grants  to, 
134;  government  land  along  line  of, 
134,  135;  advance  of,  in  north- 
western Iowa,  139 ;  advantages  of 
Orange  City  in  respect  to,  158; 
coming   cf,  to   Sioux  County,    187 

Raritan    River,   27 

Reading  Township  (Sioux  County), 
population  of,  203 

Reasnor,  Hollanders  near,  197 ;  refer- 
ence to,   297;  Dutch  church  at,   306 

Reconcentrado  camps,  tales  of  suffer- 
ing in,    361 

Red  Rock  Township  (Marion  Coun- 
ty), Hollanders  in,   196 

Relief  for  grasshopper  sufferers,  164- 
169 

Religious  liberty,  struggle  of  Dutch 
colonists   for,  27 

Religious  life,  early,  among  Holland- 
ers, 287-293;  description  of  present, 
among    Hollanders,    310-316 

Representative  (State),  defeat  of  Hos- 
pers  as  candidate  for,  150,  151, 
233;  Van  Leuven  as,  233;  Rietveld 
as,  234;  election  of  Hospers  as, 
243,    244 ;    election   of  Klay   as,   244 

Republican  party,  attitude  of  Holland- 
ers toward,  222 ;  joining  of,  by 
Scholte,  227-229,  407;  accessions 
to,  caused  by  Scholte,  229 ;  support 
of,  by  Hollanders,  237,   241 

Republican  State  Convention,  Scholte 
at,  227,  228,  229 

Republicans,  220,  358;  accusations 
against,   350 

Reuvers,    Mr.,    356 

Revolutionary    War,    28 


448 


INDEX 


Rhine   River,    15 

Rhodes,   Cecil,   349,  355,   425 

Rhodes  Scholarship,  attitude  of  Hol- 
landers toward  acceptance  of,  424, 
425 

Rhynsburger,  C,  120 

Richland  Township  (Mahaska  Coun- 
ty), Hollanders  in,  197;  vote  for 
Roosevelt  in,  232 ;  parochial  school 
in,  269 

Rietveld,   Herman,   office   held  bv,  234 

Rietveld,   J.,   46,    47,    61 

Rivers,  land  along,  343 

Road   supervisors,    214 

Rochester  (New  York),  Hollanders  in, 
157,  158;  reference  to,  187,  188 

Rock  River,  difficulty  with  American 
settlers  on,  144;  purchase  of  land 
in  valley  of,  159;   reference  to,   182 

Rock  Township  (Sioux  County),  popu- 
lation of,  203 

Rock  Valley,  Dutch  church  at,  186, 
302,  306;  reference  to,  191,  270, 
284;  population  of,  203;  plan  for 
parochial  school  at,  269;  mass  meet- 
ings at,  358,  359 ;  money  raised 
for   Boers  at,  360 

Rocky  Mountain  locusts,   171 

Roman  Catholics,  exclusion  of,  from 
emigrant    associations,    43 

Roosevelt,  Theodore,  vote  of  Holland- 
ers for,  232,  241 ;  attack  upon,  243  ; 
alleged  aid  of  English  by,  361,  411; 
interview  of  Stead   with,   424 

Roseland    (Minnesota),    204 

Roselle  Township  (Carroll  County), 
Hollanders  in,  195 

Rotterdam  (Holland),  departure  of 
emigrants  from,  45,  46 ;  Hospers 
at,  151,  152;  reference  to,  151, 
347,  348;  departure  of  Van  Raalte 
from,    382 

Rotterdam    (Kansas),    199 

Route  of  Hollanders  to  Iowa,  51-53, 
99,  346 

Roxbury    (Massachusetts),   251 

Roziersz,  J,,  election  of,  as  treasurer, 
214 

Rusch,  Nicholas  J.,  experiences  of,  as 
Immigrant    Commissioner,    120 

Russia,    352,    376 

Rutgers  College,  303 

Scandinavians,   336 

Schaap,  Jan,   343 

Schaap,    Peter   R.,   office  held   by,   242 

Schaefer,  John,  404 

Schenectady   (New  York),    19 

Scholte,  Henrv  Peter,  32,  46,  80,  83, 
90,  92,  109,  150,  221,  265,  266, 
279,  297,  302,  378,  382,  388;  po- 
sition of,  among  Seceders,  32 ;  per- 
secution suffered  by,  33;  need  of 
emigration  realized  by,  35,  36;  atti- 
tude of,  toward  United  States,  39, 
40 ;  reasons  of,  for  leaving  Holland, 


40,  41 ;  emigration  encouraged  by, 
42-44  ;  periodical  published  by,  44 ; 
letter  from  Barendregt  to,  45,  339, 
348 ;  arrival  of,  at  Boston,  48 ; 
dangers  to  immigrants  described  by, 
48-50;  immigrants  met  by,  50;  re- 
ception of,  in  America,  54-56;  invi- 
tations to,  to  preach,  54,  55 ; 
attention  of,  called  to  Michigan,  58 ; 
reasons  for  rejection  of  Michigan 
by,  58-60;  investigations  by,  60- 
63  ;  description  of  purchase  of  land 
by,  63,  64 ;  contract  for  building 
of  cabins  made  by,  67 ;  description 
of  land  purchased  by,  70,  71; 
amount  of  land  purchased  by,  71 ; 
price  paid  for  land  by,  71 ;  money 
advanced  by,  71,  72;  precautions 
taken  by,  72 ;  names  given  to 
streets  by,  73,  74  ;  saw-mill  installed 
by,  76;  description  of  conditions 
at  Pella  by,  81 ;  post-office  secured 
by,  86 ;  town  of  Amsterdam  laid 
out  by,  89,  214;  offer  of,  to  donate 
land  for  capital,  92,  223  ;  character 
of  followers  of,  94,  95 ;  letters  de- 
scribing Pella  written  by,  96-99 ; 
discussion  of  immigration  by,  102, 
103 ;  English  garden  of,  108 ;  wal- 
nut grove  of,  108;  newspaper  edited 
by,  110,  220,  245-249;  pamphlets 
by,  116;  Governor's  message  trans- 
lated by,  118;  political  conditions 
in  America  discussed  bv,  209,  210, 
212,  213,  215-218;  plan  of,  to  plat 
new  town,  213;  election  of,  as  jus- 
tice of  peace,  214;  election  of,  as 
school  inspector,  214;  election  held 
at  house  of,  214;  memorial  to  legis- 
lature drawn  up  by,  215;  influence 
of,  in  politics,  220;  opposition  of, 
to  Know-Nothings,  222 ;  opposition 
of,  to  incorporation  of  Pella,  223, 
224 ;  political  speeches  by,  225, 
226;  Dutch  news  published  by,  226; 
defeat  of,  for  State  Binder,  227; 
desertion  of  Democratic  party  by, 
227-229,  407,  408;  election  of,  as 
delegate  to  Chicago  convention,  229; 
religious  periodical  published  by, 
250;  complaint  of,  258,  259;  ac- 
tivities of,  as  school  inspector,  259, 
260;  education  of,  259,  260;  inter- 
est of,  in  higher  education,  276; 
land  for  college  donated  by,  276 ; 
efforts  of,  in  behalf  of  Central  Uni- 
versity, 277;  religious  life  at  Pella 
described  by,  288,  289,  290; 
preaching  by,  290;  breach  between 
church  and,  291,  292;  church  es- 
tablished by  followers  of,  292,  293; 
loss  of  influence  of,  293 ;  occupa- 
tions of,  293 ;  reason  for  refusal  of, 
to  join  church,  294;  pulpit  formerly 
used  by,  417 
Scholte,    Henry    P.,    acknowledgments 


INDEX 


449 


to,  9;  reference  to,  379,  390,  404, 
422 

School  directors,  election  of,  at  Pella, 
265 

School    inspector,    214,    259,    260 

Schoolhouse,  first,  at  Pella,  260; 
need  for  new,  at  Pella,  261,  262; 
building  of  new,  at  Pella,  263,  264 

Schoolhouses,  173;  number  of,  in 
Sioux  County,  280;  character  of, 
326 

Schools,  high  standard  of,  in  Hol- 
land, 256  ;  pioneer,  among  Holland- 
ers, 256-265;  religious  exercises  in, 
260;  discussion  of  systems  of,  262; 
discussion  of  method  of  support 
ing,  263,  264;  new  law  for  support 
of,  265;  establishment  of  Christian, 
266-270;  lack  of  Christian  educa- 
tion in  public,  268,  269;  public  and 
high,   271-275 

Scotland,  45,   376 

Scott  County,  Hollanders  in,   105,   193 

Scott  Township  (Mahaska  County), 
Hollanders   in,    197 

Sac  and  Fox  Indians,  reservation  for 
half-breeds   of,   61 

St.  Joseph  (Missouri),  Hospers  at,  122 

St.  Louis,  45,  58,  61,  68,  81,  87,  88, 
97,  99,  106,  158,  347;  journey 
from  Baltimore  to,  48-53  ;  arrival  of 
Hollanders  at,  52 ;  experiences  of 
Hollanders  in,  52,  53 ;  de:iths  of 
Hollanders  at,  53  ;  reception  of  Hol- 
landers at,  56;  return  of  committee 
to,  64 ;  departure  of  Hollanders 
from,  65,  66,  101;  difficulty  of 
communication  with,  87 ;  plan  for 
shipping  corn  to,  91;  distance  from 
New  Orleans  to,  340;  fare  from 
New  Orleans  to,  340;  arrival  of 
Barendregt  at,  342 ;  description  of, 
342,  343;   travel  bv  way  of,   346 

St.    Paul,   139,    158 

St.  Paul  and  Sioux  City  Railroad, 
land  grant  to,  134;  completion  of, 
to  East  Orange,  147 ;  reference  to, 
180 

Saloons,  absence  of,  in  Pella,  110; 
expulsion  of,   327 

Sanborn,    Dutch   church   at,   203 

Sandusky  (Ohio),  railroad  to  Cin- 
cinnati   from,    99 

Sarah  Sand    (steamboat),  46 

Saw-mills,    76,    110 

Seceders,  leaders  of,  32  ;  reference  to, 
57;  position  of,  in  Holland,  287 
(see  also  Separatists  and  Dissent- 
ers) 

Secret  societies,  opposition  to,  307,  308 

Seed,  appropriation  for  purchase  of, 
168,    169 

Senator  (State),  Balkema  as,  244; 
Hospers  as,  244 

Separation,    Father   of    the,    32 

Separatists,     persecution     of,     32-34 ; 


spread  of  beliefs  of,  33;  desire  of, 
for  freedom,  37 ;  appeal  of,  to  gov- 
ernment, 38 ;  emigration  to  Amer- 
ica urged  by,  39,  42 ;  desire  of, 
for  means  of  education,  256-258; 
difference  of  opinion  between  Scholte 
and,  294  (see  also  Seceders  and 
Dissenters) 

Settlers,  troubles  of  early,  17;  plan 
for  direction  of,  to  America,  18 ; 
purchase  of  land  from,  63,  64,  71; 
gratitude  of  Dutch  to  American,  107 

Settlers  Township  (Sioux  County), 
population   of,    203 

Shambaugh,  Benj.  F.,  editor's  intro 
duction  by,  5,  6;  acknowledgments 
to,   9 

Shaw,    Leslie  M.,    360 

Sheboygan    County     (Wisconsin),    244 

Sheldon,  166,  270;  Hollanders  in, 
200,  203;  parochial  school  at,  269, 
Dutch    church    at,    302    306, 

Sheldon   Mail,  The,   255 

Sheridan  Township  (Sioux  County), 
population   of,    202,    203 

Sheriff,    237,   241,    242 

Sherman  Township  (Sioux  County), 
establishment  of,  185;  population 
of,  186,  203;  proportion  of  Hol- 
landers  in,    187;   politics  in,   241 

's  Hertogenbosch  (Holland),  confer- 
ence of  Hospers  at,   152 

Shoemakers,   80 

Shorthorn  cattle,  334 

Sibley,  166;  Hollanders  in,  200;  Dutch 
church    at,    419 

Sijnhorst,  Dk.,  election  of,  as  road 
supervisor,   214 

Silos,    335 

Sioux  Center,  former  name  of,  186; 
proportion  of  Hollanders  in,  187, 
202;  railroad  to,  189;  reference  to, 
191,  270,  284;  efforts  of,  to  secure 
county  seat,  243 ;  parochial  school 
at,  269;  students  from,  at  Univer- 
sity, 275;  Dutch  church  at,  301, 
302,  306;  destruction  of  church 
building  at,  311;  church  buildings 
at,  312;  municipal  improvements 
at,  326;  correspondence  from,  354; 
mass  meetings  at,  358,  359;  money 
raised  for  Boers  at,  360;  school 
property   at,   414 

Sioux  Center  Nieuwsblad,  242;  edi- 
tors   of,    254 

Sioux  City,  land  office  at,  129,  135; 
investigating  committee  at,  130, 
131;  journev  of  committee  to,  132; 
reference  to,  133,  134,  139,  158, 
164,  165,  355;  mass  meetings  at, 
359 

Sioux  City  and  Northern  Railway,  189 

Sioux  City  and  St.  Paul  Railroad,  173 

Sioux  City  Journal,  sensational  state 
ment  by,    354 

Sioux    County,    story   of    Dutch    settle- 


450 


INDEX 


ment  in,  7;  reference  to,  9,  153, 
170,  176,  200,  233,  254,  273,  284, 
329,  332,  358.  359,  399;  number 
of  Hollanders  in,  105,  192 ;  avail- 
able land  in,  131;  choice  of,  132- 
135;  decision  of  committee  to  exam- 
ine, 133 ;  arrival  of  committee  in, 
133;  selection  of  land  in,  133,  134; 
apportionment  of  land  in,  134;  rail- 
road land  grant  in,  134;  glimpse 
of,  in  1869,  136-139;  visit  of  home 
steaders  to,  136;  establishment  of 
137;  reasons  for  late  settlement  of, 
137,  138;  population  of,  138,  154 
bright  prospects  for,  139;  prep 
arations  for  journey  to,  140;  emi 
gration  from  Pella  to,  140;  ieserip 
tion  of  first  dwellings  in,  141-143 
community  life  of  Hollanders  in 
143 ;  difficulty  of  securing  fuel  in 
144;  name  of  Prince  of  Orange  per 
petuated  in,  145 ;  plan  for  town 
in,  146 ;  importance  of  founding  of 
colony  in,  148,  149;  promotion  of 
immigration  to,  by  Hospers,  150- 
159;  position  of  Hospers  in,  153 
154;  experiences  of  Stuart  in,  154 
advertisement  of  lands  in,  156,  157 
inspection  of,  by  committee  from 
Michigan,  158;  prediction  of  Hos- 
pers concerning,  158,  159:  purchase 
of  additional  land  in,  159:  most 
memorable  years  in  history  of,  160 
abundant  harvests  in,  160-162;  re 
quest  for  aid  for  settlers  of,  165 
investigation  of  locust  ravages  in 
165-167:  discouragement  in,  172 
173,  175,  176;  progress  of  Hoi 
landers  in,  173,  174;  emigration 
from,  176,  177,  good  fortune  of 
Hollanders  in,  178;  growth  of  Dutch 
colony  in,  179-191,  201  ;  descrip- 
tion of,  by  Keokuk  editor,  180; 
transformation  in  appearance  of, 
180,  181;  herd  law  adopted  in,  182; 
Dutch  wind-mill  in,  182,  183;  town- 
ships in,  185;  population  elements 
in,  186,  187,  189,  201-203;  effect 
of  locust  ravages  on  reputation  of, 
186,  187;  railroads  in,  187;  quar- 
ter centennial  of  settlement  of  Dutch 
in,  189-191;  reason  for  founding 
colony  in,  199;  polities  in,  235- 
244;  longest  term  of  office  in,  235; 
support  of  Republican  party  bv 
Dutch  in,  237;  suit  against, '  237, 
238;  first  Dutch  newspaper  in,  238; 
Representative  from,  243,  244; 
newspapers  in,  252-255;  efforts  to 
attract  immigrants  to,  253 ;  attrac- 
tions of  wealth  in,  272;  high  school 
graduates  in,  274:  students  from, 
at  University,  275 ;  number  of 
schoolhouses  in,  280;  interest  in  es- 
tablishment of  college  in,  281,  282; 
service   of  Bolks  to  people   of,   298, 


301 ;  Dutch  churches  in,  301-303 ; 
scarcity  of  orchards  in,  321  ;  soft- 
wood trees  in,  321;  foreign-born 
farmers  in,  332,  421,  422;  agricul- 
tural products  in,  332,333;  price  of 
land  in,  333;  silos  in,  335;  Trans- 
vaal meeting  in,  350;  raising  of 
money  for  Boers  in,  360;  emigra- 
tion from  Michigan  to,  399 

Sioux   County    Herald,   The,    252,   255 

Sioux  Township  (Sioux  County),  pop- 
ulation of,   203 

Sipma,  Sjoerd  Aukes,  pamphlet  by, 
116;  member  of  investigating  com- 
mittee,   127 

Skating,   114 

Skeptics,  exclusion  of,  from  emigrant 
associations,    43 

Skunk  River,  70,  196,  198,  297,  390; 
saw-mill  on,  76,  110;  schoolhouse 
near,  260 

Slavery,  attitude  of  Hollanders  toward, 
222,  223,   226 

Smeenk,  J.,  47,  277 

Social  life  among  Hollanders,   323 

Sod  houses,  description  of,  74,  75,  142, 
143 

South  Africa,  interest  of  Hollanders 
in  events  in,  349 ;  resolutions  of 
councils  relative  to  war  in,  355- 
358  ;  reconcentrado  camps  in,  361 ; 
reference  to,    374 

South   America,    145 

South  Carolina,  Dutch  churches  in,  29 

South  Dakota,  Dutch  churches  in,  29  ; 
emigration  to,  199,  204;  reference 
to,  254,  284,  354,  421;  Hollanders 
in,    376 

South  Holland,  emigrants  from,  44; 
reference   to,   327 

Southerland   Courier,   255 

Southern    States,    secession  of,   230 

Spain,  defeat  of  armies  of,  15 ;  peace 
with,  17;  struggle  between  Holland 
and,    23;    reference  to,    376 

Spanish,  capture  of  ships  of,  17 

Speculation,  taste  for,  acquired  bv 
Dutch,    163 

Speculators,  efforts  of,  to  induce  im- 
migration to  Michigan,  98 ;  encour- 
agement of  immigration  by,  116; 
greed  of,  in  Marion  County,  125; 
land  near  Cherokee  purchased  by, 
132;  reference  to,  133;  purchase 
of  land  in  Marion  County  by,  141; 
land    in    hands   of,    343 

Spring  Creek    (Minnesota),   204 

Springfield    (Illinois),   251 

Springfield    (South    Dakota),    204 

Stage   coaches,    description    of,    113 

Stage   route,    description   of,    112,    113 

State    Binder,    227 

State   Printer,    227 

State   Road,   88 

State  University  of  Iowa,  Hollanders 
in  attendance   at,  274,   275 


INDEX 


451 


Staten  Island,  settlement  of  Dutch  on, 
16 

States-General,  petitions  of  West  India 
Company  to,  17 ;  plan  of,  to  direct 
settlers  to  America,  18;  complaint 
of,  concerning  colony,  18;  appeal 
of  colonists  to,  19,  20,  21;  refer- 
ence to,  21;  complaint  of  West  In- 
dia   Company,    to,    371 

Stead,  William  T.,  interview  of,  with 
Roosevelt,    424 

Steamboats,  prosperity  of  traffic  of, 
52;  reference  to,  86,  87,  89;  dis- 
cussions  of,    341,    342 

Steyn,    President,    356 

Stcck-breeder's    Journal,   The,    335 

Store  orders,   use  of,    as  money,   147 

Stores,  110,  111;  neatness  of,  327; 
"Transvaal  Days"   at,   355 

Storm  Lake,  124;  investigating  com- 
mittee  at,    128 

Story  City,    128 

Storv  County,  128 

Stout,    church    at,    419 

Stoutenberg,   A.,    office  held  by,   224 

Straw   Town,   75 

Streets,  at  Pella,  73,  74;  at  Orange 
City,   146 

Stuart,  Cohen,  Dutch  immigration  to 
America  favored  by,   154,    155 

Stubenrauch,  John,  service  of,  as 
teacher,  267;  reference  to,   353,  360 

Stubenrauch,   J.    H.,   353,   360 

Stuyvesant,  Peter,  appeals  of,  for  as- 
sistance,   21 

Sullivan,  J.  B.,  vote  of  Hollanders 
for,    241 

Sully,  Hollanders  near,  197 ;  Dutch 
church  at,  297,  306;  mass  meet- 
ings at,   358,    359 

Summit  Township  (Marion  County), 
community  of  Frieslanders  in,  103; 
Hollanders  in,  196 ;  vote  for  Roose- 
velt in,   232 

Sunday-schools,  291,  296,  307,  313, 
314,    347 

Supervisors,  Board  of  (see  Board  of 
Supervisors) 

Susquehanna  River,    16,   51,  385 

Sweden,  immigrants  from,  in  Sioux 
County,    189;    reference   to,    376 

Swedish  language,  pamphlet  trans- 
lated into,    121 

Switzerland,    376 

Synod  of  Dordrecht,   31,    294,   295 

Taft,  William  H.,  vote  of  Hollanders 
for,   232 

Tailors,   80 

Taintor,  Hollanders  near,  197;  refer- 
ence to,  297;   Dutch  church  at,   306 

Tama   County,    Hollanders  in,    193 

Tax,  necessity  of,  for  schools,  264; 
increase  of,  for  support  of  schools, 
265 

Taxation,   oppression   of  people   by,   35 


Taylor,    Zachary,  216 

Teesdale,    John,    election   of,    227 

Telephones,   326 

Te  Paske,  Anthony,  office  held  by,  242 

Te  Paske,  Herman,  office  held  by, 
242;    reference    to,   404,    410 

Te  Veltrup,  M.,  service  of,  in  Boer 
armies,    359 

Texas,  committee  of  investigation  in, 
123  ;  emigration  to,  199 ;  reference 
to,    386 

Theological  Seminary,  establishment 
of,   in  New  Jersey,    27 

Timber,  lack  of,  in  Sioux  County,  138 

Titonka,    church   at,    419 

't  Lam,  C,  election  of,  as  road  super- 
visor, 214 

Toekomst,   De,    character    of,    250 

Toering,  Henry,  newspaper  published 
by,    254 

Tollenaar,  Dirk,  newspaper  owned  by. 
255 

Toorn,  J.,  election  of,  as  fence  viewer, 
214 

Town  life  among   Hollanders,   320-329 

Township  clerk,  214 

Township  government,  granting  of,  to 
Hollanders,    212 

Township  officers,  election  of,  214;  ac- 
tivities of,    215 

Township   treasurer,   214 

Township    trustees,    214 

Traders,  20 

Transportation,  lack  of  means  of,  86, 
87 ;    early  means  of,    88 

Transvaal,  war  in,  243 ;  reports  of 
raising  of  men  to  serve  in,  354; 
resolutions  of  councils  relative  to 
war  in,    355-358;   reference  to,   374 

Transvaal    Days,    355 

Transvaalers,  appeal  for  aid  for,  351- 
353 

Trees,  provision  for  planting  of,  in 
Orange  City,  146;  planting  of,  by 
Hollanders,  181;  bountv  for  plant- 
ing of,  181,  182,  402;  kind  of, 
planted  by  Hollanders,  189;  lack  of 
hardwood,    among    Dutch,    321,    322 

Troost,    E.,    360 

True    Reformed    Church,    305 

Tuttle,  James  H.,  vote  of  Hollanders 
for,   231 

Twin  Brooks   (North  Dakota),  204 

Tysseling,    Teunis,    234 

Vnic,  De,    248 

Union   College,    303 

Union    School   system,    262 

Union  Township  (Marion  County), 
Hollanders   in,    196 

United    Presbyterian    Church,    420 

United  States,  early  settlements  of 
Dutch  in,  15-24;  inheritance  of, 
from  New  Netherland,  25;  number 
of    Dutch   in,    28,    105;    distribution 


452 


INDEX 


of  Hollanders  in,  29,  376,  377; 
attitude  of  Hollanders  toward  emi- 
gration to,  38-40;  land  ceded  to,  by 
Indians,  70;  land  purchased  from, 
72  ;  successful  Dutch  settlements  in, 
149;  prediction  of  most  populous 
Dutch  settlement  in,  159;  satisfac- 
tion of  Hollanders  with  government 
of,  216-218;  model  for  school  sys- 
tem of,  256;  effort  to  strengthen 
bond  between  Holland  and,  365; 
statistics  of  immigration   to,   376 

United  States  Dragoons,  evacuation 
of    Fort    Des  Moines,    by,    71 

United  States  Senator,  election  of 
Grimes  as,   227 

Universitv  of  Leyden,  Scholte  a  grad- 
uate   of,    259,    260,    277 

Utah,  emigration  of  Mormons  to,  84; 
Hollanders  in,    159 

Utrecht  (Holland),  conferences  of 
Hospers  at,  152;  reference  to,  327; 
pulpit   from,   417 

Utrecht,    University   of,    31 

Utrecht  Emigrant  Association,  forma- 
tion of,  44  ;  journey  of  members  of, 
to  America,  44-47;  officers  of,  46; 
leaders  of,  46,  47 ;  reference  to, 
48,   101 

Vale,  Jacob  G.,  vote  of  Hollanders 
for,   237 

Van  Antwerp,  Ver  Planck,  62,  63 ; 
sketch    of  life   of,    386,    387 

Van  Asch,  William,  election  of,  as 
road  supervisor,  214;  reference  to, 
412 

Van  Bennett,  M.,  394 

Van  Broekhuizen,  Rev.,  money  rais- 
ed  for    Boers  by,    360 

Van  Buren,  Martin,  216,  386 

Van  den  Berg,  Cornelius,  election  of, 
as  constable,   214 

Van   den   Berg,   John,    403 

Van  den  Bos,  Dirk,  member  of  inves- 
tigating committee,  132;  emigrant 
train   led  by,    140 

Van  den  Linden,  Leendert,  office  held 
by,  233 

Vanderberg,  J.  W.,  newspaper  owned 
by,   255 

Van  der   Ley,   P.   M.,  412 

Vandermast,  J.,  newspaper  owned  by, 
255 

Van  der  Meer,  Leen,  member  of  in- 
vestigating committee,  132  ;  emi- 
grant train   led  by,    140 

Van  der  Meide,  Arie,  office  held  by, 
242;  reference  to,  358,  399,   400 

Van  der  Meulen,  Charles  H.,  news- 
paper owned   by,   254 

Van   der   Pol,    Gerrit,    61 

Van   der  Sluis,  Mr.,    356 

Van    der    Veen,    Rev.,    297 

Van    der    Waa,    Henry    John,    interest 


of,    in    emigration    movement,     124 ; 

member   of   investigating   committee, 

127,    132;    mule   team    of,    used    by 

committtee,   131;  emigrant  train  led 

by,    140 
Van   der  Wilt,   Arnold,    office  held   by, 

242 
Van  der  Wilt,   G.,  election  of,  as  road 

supervisor,  214;  reference  to,  234 
Van   der  Zee,   Jacob,   author's  preface 

by,   7-9. 
Van      Donselaar,      Peter,      newspaper 

owned  by,   254 
Van  Ginkel,   Gerrit,  newspaper  edited 

by,    250,   251 
Van  Home,   193 
Van   Houten,  H.,  291 
Van    Houwelingen,    G.,    412 
Van    Klootwijk,    K.,    394 
Van  Leuven,  A.,  office  held  by,  233 
Van  Meveren,   P.,  election  of,  as  road 

supervisor,   214 
Van   Nimwegen,   Mr.,    356 
Van  Oosterhout,  Martin  P.,  newspaper 

owned  bv,   254;    reference   to,   350, 

353,   362,    403 
Van  Oosterhout,  P.   D.,   353 
Van   Oosterhout,    Peter  D.,   office   held 

by,    242;    reference   to,    353 
Van   Raalte,  Albertus  C,    32,    44,   60, 

278,  294,  295,  296,   301,    348,  391; 

emigration    encouraged    by,     42-44; 

colony  in  Michigan  founded  by,  57  ; 

Hollanders   invited  to    Michigan    by, 

57,    58 ;    character    of    followers    of, 

94  ;   letter  by,   describing  colony,  95, 

96;    efforts   of,    to    secure   parochial 

school,  266;    colleges  established   by, 

281  ;    journey    of,    to    America,    382 
Van    Schelvin,   G.,    399 
Van  Stigt,   K.,  magazine  published  bv, 

252 
Van  Velzen,   S.,   32 
Van   Wagenen,   A.   W.,   353 
Van  Zante,   Mr.,   356 
Van  Zante,  Dieles,  office  held  by,   233 
Van  Zante,  D.  G.,  office  held  by,   233 
Viersen,  Auke  H,  office  held  by,   233  ; 

reference   to,    234,   279 
Viersen,    H.    Y.,    47 
Viersen,    Lillian,    279 
Viersen,    Sieberke,  library   donated  by, 

324 
Viersen,    Sipke   H,  office   held  by,  233 
Viljoen,  H.   D.,   visit  of,  to  Iowa,   360 
Virginia,    19,   115 
Visitors,  reception  of,  in  Dutch  homes, 

323,    324 
Volga   (South  Dakota),  204 
Volksvriend,    De,     founding    of,     155; 

objects   of,    155,    156;   reference  to, 

187,     242;     political     activities     of, 

239,     240;     sketch     of     history     of, 

252-254 
Vos,  G.  H.,  newspaper  owned  by,  255 
Voyage,   experiences   on,   47 


INDEX 


453 


Vriezelaar,  J.  B.,  office  held  by,  233 
Vrije  Hollander,  Ue,  242 ;  cliaracter 
of,  243  ;  editors  of,  254 ;  cause  of 
Boers  espoused  by,  350;  reference 
to,  358,  361,  362;  attacks  on  Mc- 
Kinley  by,    359 

Wages,  comparison  of,  in  Holland  and 
America,    41  ;    reference  to,    81,    106 

Wagon  makers,    110 

Wagons,  use  of,  for  living  purposes, 
141,    142 

Waldenses,    immigration   of,    21 

Wallace's   Farmer,    335 

Walloons,  emigration  of,  to  America, 
16,    21 

Wapello  County,  Hollanders  in,  104, 
105,  195;  reference  to,  223;  Dutch 
church    in,    297 

Warnshuis,    John,    office   held   by,    242 

Washington,  Dutch  churches  in,  29 ; 
emigration  to,  204;  reference  to, 
254 

Washington,  D.  C,  48 ;  treatment  of 
Scholte  at,   60,  210 

Waukon  Standard,  The,   255 

Webster  City,   128 

Webster    County,    Hollanders    in,    194 

Welcome  Township  (Sioux  County), 
establishment  of,  185;  Hollanders 
in,    187,    202;    politics   in,    241 

Welle,   P.,  election  of,   as  trustee,   214 

Wellsburg,   Dutch  church   at,  307,   419 

Welmers,  Thomas  E.,  283 

Weslev,  420 

Wessels,    C.    H.,    359 

West,  Dutch  pioneers  in,  28 ;  con- 
quest of,   71 ;   first  settlers  in,   80 

West  Branch,  Dutch  church  at,  185, 
301  ;    change   of   name    of,    186 

West  Branch  Township  (Sioux  Coun- 
ty), establishment  of,  185;  popula- 
tion of,  186;  Hollanders  in,  3  87, 
202;   politics   in,    241 

West  Des  Moines  Township  (Mahas- 
ka   County),    Hollanders    in,    197 

West  India  Company,  provision  of 
charter  of,  16;  character  of  activi- 
ties of,  16,  17;  desire  of,  for  con- 
tinuance of  war,  17;  neglect  of  col- 
onists by,  17,  18,  19;  complaint 
against,  20;  agreement  between 
Amsterdam  and,  21;  complaint  of, 
371 

Western  Stage  Companv,  criticism  of, 
112,   113 


Western  Theological  Seminary,  286, 
303 

Westfield   (North  Dakota),  204 

Westward  movement,  part  of  Dutch 
in,    28 

Wheat,  77,  160,  170;  production  of, 
in   Sioux    County,    332,    333 

Whigs,  219,  220;  desertion  of,  by 
Hospers,    222 

White,  F.  E.,  vote  of  Hollanders  for, 
232 

Whitney,    railroad  proposed   by,   92 

Wigny,   A.,    46 

Willempjes,    49 

William  I,  church  regulations  ap- 
proved by,  31;  persecution  of  Sep- 
aratists by,  32 ;  regulation  of 
church  by,  287 

William  II,  renouncement  of  allegi- 
ance to,  211,  212  ;  plan  for  present 
to,    397 

William  of  Orange,  attitude  of  Bella 
colonists  toward,  145 ;  dictum  of, 
287 

Wind-mill,  building  of,  182;  dismant- 
ling   of,    183 

Winnebago   County,    church   in,    419 

Winnie   (Texas),  Dutch  colony  at,  199 

Winter,  Rev.  E.,   184 

Winter  of  1848-49,  severity  of,  82,  83 

Winterswijk    (Holland),    343 

Wisconsin,  Hollanders  in,  29,  376; 
Dutch  churches  in,  29;  reference 
to,  57,  58,  95,  115,  117,  150,  157, 
158,  173,  204,  226,  284,  343,  382; 
Dutch  emigration  from,  154,  161  ; 
Dutch  newspaper  published  in,  247, 
248,   249 

Wolmarens,    A.    D.    W.,    359 

Woodbury  County,  Hollanders  in,   200 

Wooden-shoe-makers,    110 

Wooden  shoes,  use  of,  among  Holland- 
ers,  328 

Woodland   (Wisconsin),  251 

Wormhoudt,    Mr.,    356 

Worthing  (South  Dakota),  204 

Wright,    church    at,    420 

Wright  County,  Hollanders  in,  194; 
church  in,   419 

Zeeland,    327 
Zeeland    (Michigan),    298 
Zuid   Holland,    151 
Zwemer,   James   F.,    282 


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